The Arrangement
by theAnGerFlarE
Summary: Odin decides that enough is enough: a century had passed since Loki's attack on Earth and Jane's death. Two Princesses of Vanaheim are arranged to marry them; much to Loki's disgust. But one of the Princesses refuse to go through with the arrangement and has a trick or two up her sleeve. Will she catch the God of Mischief's eye? Or will she end up destroying everything?
1. The Arrangement

Odin watched as his two sons knelt before him; both of them surrounded by the Asgardian soldiers and the Warriors Three. It was a very formal meeting; one that was going to change the future of Asgard forever. He cast a wary gaze over at his Queen, Frigga, and she gave him an affirmed nod. This had to be done.

"My sons." Odin announced. Thor and Loki both looked upwards, Thor looking curious as to what was going to happen and Loki looking fearful. Odin continued, gravely.

"It's been a century since Loki has committed wrongdoings against Misgard. He has done his time in the prisons, gone through exile, and has even turned mortal, for a brief period of time. Thor, you have never strayed far from your brother, continually fixing the messes he has made. However, there is a time in a Prince's life where one last decision must be made by the parents, before they can be set free." Odin stopped his speech and waited for one of them to say something. It didn't take long.

"What do you mean?" Thor asked quietly, looking up from the floor. Loki didn't move a muscle, but his face twitched with uncertainty.

Frigga quietly walked to Odin's side and put a hand on his arm. "The both of you have an arranged marriage with two Princesses from the opposite realm. We have talked to the King from Vanaheim, and he has agreed to let his daughters come to Asgard to be married."

Thor's mouth dropped open, and Loki's head jerked up angrily. There was a bitter fire in those emerald eyes.

"You are forcing us to be wed?" he snapped. "Do you not think we can make our own decisions?"

"Quiet, brother." Thor muttered. "Now is not the time nor place."

"To hell with that!" Loki got up, much to the crowds' disbelief. "I refuse to be married to some _harlot _I do not know."

Sigyn narrowed her eyes at Loki's statement and clutched her sword tightly, but didn't say a word.

"Quiet, Loki!" Odin said loudly, stomping his staff on the floor once. "It will be done."

Angry, Loki knelt back down and shot daggers at his father, almost wishing that he would be sent back to the prisons. He would rather still be in the Bifrost than to ever get married again. Thor cast a nervous glance over at Loki, both of their eyes meeting for a split second.

"They have traveled very far to get here." Frigga said, fiddling with her hands. "You must be on your best behavior when they get here."

"Do you know what they are named?" Thor asked his mother.

Frigga smiled down at him. "The one you will wed is the eldest princess. Kaisa Vanir."

"And Loki's?" Thor asked, hearing a scowl of disgust from behind him.

"Takumi Vanir." Frigga answered, worry crossing her face. "Loki, do not be so bitter. You will come to love her, just like I came to love your father."

"I will make her life a misery." Loki answered angrily, getting up from his spot and stomping out of the room. The door slammed hard behind him, and everyone in the crowd winced with discomfort. Sigyn shook her head. She had no trouble believing the things that Loki would do to get himself out of that mess, just as he did with her. It was going to be humorous to see this unfold.

Thor got up from kneeling and was about to leave when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Odin staring at him. "Father." he spoke quietly.

"I know you are in mourn for the mortal's death on Misgard." Odin said, keeping his voice low.

Thor shook his head as he thought of Jane, in her last moments. He pushed the thought from his mind. "All is well. She is in peace."

"Let us hope so." He gave Thor a reassuring squeeze before walking out of the throne room himself, followed by the large crowd of Asgardians and the Warrior Three.

Thor was left standing in the empty room alone. He sighed. Knowing Loki, the marriages would not go by smoothly.

Not until he got his way.


	2. Kaisa and Takumi Vanir

_**From Vanaheim... **_

The carriage bumped rockily on the gravel road, knocking over a glass of water. The liquid ran down the side of the dresser and onto the floor and puddled in a corner. Kaisa sighed and wiped it up with a dish towel. She fleetingly wondered who's smart idea it was to put water in a moving carriage; she definitely wasn't in the mood for it.

"Care to help, Takumi?" she asked her sister, who was huddled gloomily in a corner. When she didn't get an answer, she threw the wet rag onto the floor and glared at her. "Takumi!." Kaisa said, a bit louder.

Takumi lazily looked over at her with a bored expression, her black hair tumbled over her face in a messy way. "What?"

"You don't have to be so angry about this, you know." Kaisa said, exasperatedly.

Takumi didn't answer. She just merely gave Kaisa a bitter smile and went back to staring at the wall.

Kaisa sighed. Just this morning, their father broke the news to them that they were going to Asgard to get married to the two princes. Of the All-father, no less. Kaisa was going to be wed to the one named Thor, and Takumi to the one named Loki. At first, Takumi just laughed at their father as though it was merely a joke. Then all hell broke loose as Takumi tried to flee from Vanaheim, and nearly succeeded if not for the gate-keeper.

"I'm not going to do it." she suddenly heard Takumi mutter. "I don't care what the All-father says. I'll die before I'm married to that stranger."

"You must. You heard what Father said." Kaisa hissed, crawling over to her sister. She grabbed Takumi's arm gently and held on to it. "He is doing this for our own good, sister. You know we cannot stay single forever."

"Well why not?" Takumi turned toward her, her large brown eyes seething with anger. "I am not worthy of the throne, remember?"

Kaisa shook her head and tried to smooth the hair from her sister's face. "It has nothing to do with your birth-rights, Takumi. Father loves you no matter what."

"Why would anyone love a monster?" Takumi shrugged her off. "He could not wait to get rid of me."

Kaisa sighed again and leaned against the wall next to her. Her sister was stubborn indeed; ever since she found out her adoption, she had been nothing but a pain. Netherless, Kaisa still loved her and thought of her as her sister. They rode in silence for a while longer. Takumi finally relaxed herself and started to chew on her fingernails, something that Kaisa found absolutely revolting. _A true princess should not have the need to chew on her fingernails. _She thought in disgust.

The carriage rattled once more and she heard Takumi hiss in anger. Another bottle of water split onto the ground and started to run towards them, soaking into the hem of their dresses. Kaisa shook her head and reached for another washrag. Why did this have to happen?

"Ya know, we could run." Takumi muttered, turning toward Kaisa with a wicked grin on her face. "Once the gatekeeper of Asgard opens up, we could break out of here and run. You've got your spear and I have my magic, they'd never find us!"

"You must stop with your slang." Kaisa instructed, but smiled at her sister's wild idea. "Your fiancee will not take kindly to that, being a Prince."

"Ack. I knew you'd never listen." Takumi said angrily again, huddling herself in the corner. "You never do."

"We cannot just leave." Kaisa protested. "They will catch us and we will serve time in the prisons! Besides, tis not fit for a future Queen to rebel so. You must learn your manners, Takumi."

"I have manners. I just never use them." She ran her hand through her long, black hair.

"I feel bad for Loki." Kaisa muttered.

Takumi raised an eyebrow. "So do I. His life is going to be a living hell once I'm in it."

"Why not just respect Father's orders?" Kaisa sounded like she was on the brink of tears. "There is no need to cause more drama."

"He is not my father." Takumi scoffed.

"I give up!" Kaisa shouted, throwing up her arms and banging her hand on the dresser. It rattled violently for a moment before spilling more water on the two girls. They both screamed as the cold water showered on them, drenching them from head to toe. Takumi shakily got up and tried to get a dishrag to clean up the puddling liquid. She tripped over Kaisa's ankle and fell face-first in the puddle, accidently making a dent in the wooden floor of the carriage.

The two girls lay on the wet ground for a moment, completely stunned. Kaisa lifted up her head and stared at Takumi, her brown hair sticking to her face. Takumi stared back at her, her own black hair dripping wet with water. Their dresses stuck tightly to their bodies and chilled them down to the bone.

"What the hell just happened?" Takumi blinked, water falling from her eyelashes.

Kaisa wiped the hair out of her face. "The water... WHO'S IDEA WAS IT TO PUT GLASSES OF WATER IN HERE?!" she exploded.

Takumi giggled for a moment and then burst out in complete laughter at how ridiculous her sister looked, with her stringy hair and water-splattered dress. She leaned against the wall and laughed, much to Kaisa's irritation.

"Do you find everything funny, you mischevious rat?" she snapped, twisting the water out of her hem.

"Pretty much." Takumi giggled.

Just then, the carriage door opened and Takumi fell out on the hard ground, blinking at the sudden light. She looked up in disbelief as a dark-skinned man stared down at her unamusingly; his sharp gold eyes staring daggers into hers. Takumi scrambled into a sitting position and brushed back her long hair, while Kaisa poked her head out and stared at the man with horror on her face.

"Welcome to Asgard." The man said in a deep voice, staring at the two Princesses with disdain. "I am Heimdall, gatekeeper of this realm. What ails you, travelers?"

Takumi didn't say a word, she pressed her lips together. Kaisa clumisly stepped out of the carriage, tripping over her wet dress.

"We are from Vanaheim." she said with uncertainty. "Princess Kaisa and Takumi Vanir."

"That is you?" the man's face didn't change, although he sounded shocked. "They will be waiting for you in the palace."

"Come, Takumi." Kaisa muttered, tugging on her sister's arm and following the moving carriage. Her face burned with humiliation.

Their first visit to Asgard wasn't one that either of them anticipated.


	3. In A Plume Of Smoke

The two girls silently followed the guards down the rainbow bridge to the magnificent palace of Asgard. While Kaisa respectfully kept her head downcast, Takumi couldn't help but look around. It was a beautiful place, she had to admit. The skies were multicolored in rays of orange, blue and red, and there were giant clouds in the sky that reminded her of different animals. When she looked down at her feet, she could see colors flashing from the rainbow bridge. Everything in Asgard was much fancier and nicer than the things in Vanaheim: she sort of envied the princes who lived here.

Sort of.

Takumi felt Kaisa jostle her arm and she disdainfully cast her eyes back down. She could almost hear her sister hissing, "Keep your eyes down Takumi! Remember our training!"

_To hell with training. _Takumi thought hotly, feeling her wet cheeks warm. _What good has it done? Nothing! Now I'm getting married to some rat I don't know. _

In the midst of her thoughts, Takumi stumbled over her own feet and clumsily crashed into the guard in front of her, sending them both to the ground. Humiliated and feeling the horrified eyes of her sister on her, Takumi tried to push herself out of the dust and look somewhat presentable, but she only accomplished in making her wet dress muddy. The guard stood up and glared at her, his eyes squinted in anger.

"You are a graceful one." he muttered, turning around. "I wonder which Prince shall be wedded to you."

Takumi bit her lip in response but held it back. No use in further embarrassing herself. She briefly caught Kaisa's eyes, and to her anger she found nothing but resentment. Kaisa turned her head back toward the ground, her brown hair sticking her face and her cheeks aflame. Takumi stared at her sister for a moment more before looking at the ground herself, cursing her clumsiness.

After what seemed like forever, the two princesses were stopped in front of huge doors that lead to the marble palace. As they were escorted inside, neither Kaisa or Takumi could keep their eyes downcast.

The inside of the palace was magnificently huge, with delicate inscriptions in gold and silver on the pillars and the floors were shiny with white rock. Large flaming torches were held on the wall, lighting up every step of the way. Takumi couldn't help but run a gentle hand on one of the pillars, and to her surprise, it was incredibly smooth and the design was sculpted into the rock.

The guards led them through a large door and ushered them through, stopping at the enterance. Warily, the two girls found themselves in front of a large crowd of people. They parted to let them through, and there was King Odin and his wife, Frigga.

Odin raised an eyebrow at the two drenched princesses. "Welcome to Asgard." he said slowly, repeating the gate-keepers words. "I see you have made it with.. only a little trouble."

Kaisa spoke for the both of them, much to Takumi's irritation. "I am sorry, your highness. We did not expect to look this way when we arrived."

The All-father put up a condoling hand. "I understand. I am only happy you two have made it safely."

"As are we." Kaisa murmured, looking over at Takumi with a soft expression on her face. She turned back to him. "I am Kaisa Vanir, the eldest daughter."

"And the other is Takumi Vanir?" Odin asked.

Takumi raised her head and glared hatefully at the All-father. "Aye." she said bitterly.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. Takumi fidgeted with her wet dress and snuck a glance at Kaisa, who was looking at the marble floor in shame.

"Princesses of Vanahiem, I do believe it is time for you to meet your future husbands." Odin cleared his throat and gestured with his hand. Out stepped two young men, one with nice blonde hair and a gentle expression on his face, and the smaller man with black hair and green eyes. There was no expression on the smaller man's face, but his eyes were shining with hate. Takumi found this slightly amusing, perhaps he was not happy about the arrangement either. A plan formulated in her mind for a brief moment, but it was cut off again by Odin.

"Thor, step forward." the All-father instructed.

The blonde god stepped forward and got onto his knees. "I am Thor." he said in a quiet tone. "Of Asgard."

Kaisa stepped forward as well, her face blushing fiercely. "I am Kaisa, of Vanaheim. Lovely to meet you, Thor."

"And you as well." Thor said, taking her hand and kissing it gently. Kaisa gave him a small smile as he got up, and the two of them stood side by side and waited for the other brother to take his turn.

_Oh gods. _Takumi thought angrily, looking at the younger man with distaste. So THAT was Loki. To her horror, the All-father didn't hesitate.

"Loki, step forward." he said, almost forcefully.

The black-haired god walked up to her and got to his knees reluctantly. He cast his green eyes up to her, his face taunt with anger. "I am Loki." he said in a raspy tone. "Of Asgard."

Takumi pressed her lips together angrily. "I am Takumi..." she started bitterly. "Of..Vanaheim."

There wasn't another word said, but Loki slowly grasped her hand and bought it to his lips. They gently touched down on her hand. The gentle kiss wasn't terrible, but she was still glad when he let go. He stood up and stared into her eyes, and with a scowl, he put an arm around her and the both of them stiffly walked over to where Thor and Kaisa were.

"Now that you have met, the wedding days will be decided." Odin said, looking relieved. "Thor and Kaisa, your wedding will be the first in two days time. Thank you, Asgardian people."

The crowd quickly dispersed out of the room, and Odin gave his sons a hard look before ushering his wife out of the room.

Between the four of them, there was a bitter silence. Kaisa gently pried herself from Thor to her sister, cupping her small face in her hands.

"You did well, Takumi." she said softly.

"I will run from this place." Takumi hissed angrily, wrenching herself from both Kaisa and Loki's grip. She stumbled backwards and quickly wiped her hair from her face. "I will do whatever it takes!"

"Takumi.." Kaisa begged. "Please don't be difficult."

Loki gave Takumi a studied expression. "You wish to defy the rules?"

"She has always been this way!" Kaisa said angrily, staring at her sister. "Takumi you cannot do this! Remember what Father said!"

"He is not my father." Takumi gave her sister a wicked grin. "Don't you know who my real parents are, Kaisa?"

"Do not do this!" her sister hissed, her eyes welling with angry tears.

"I was taken from the fire realm as a wee baby. My father, king of the fire elements, was killed by our Father's hand. And for what, Kaisa? So he can sell me at his merry whim? Because I AM NOTHING BUT A WEAPON!" Takumi started to laugh angrily, tears spilling down her cheeks. "No, Father has made a deal with the All-father. That I marry his _son _in return that he may use my power to defend Asgard."

Kaisa remained quiet for a moment, tears slipping down her cheeks. "You do not know that, Takumi."

"Yes I do." she said angrily. "And I don't want to be anyone's property."

Both Loki and Thor were staring at Takumi with open mouths. Neither brother could say a word, and Takumi felt a pang of guiltiness rip through her chest. Loki would not be able to wed now, because of her.

But it had to be done.

"I am sorry, Kaisa." Takumi said, stepping backwards again.

"Sister..." Kaisa started to cry, harder. "You are my sister, no matter what they say!"

Takumi looked up at the ceiling and could picture flames eating the entire building, carefully peeling away every last piece. "I hope so.."

Before anyone could react, Takumi's body seemed to explode all at once. Kaisa screamed as she was blown backwards, her body thumping against the hard floor. When she looked up again, she saw Takumi transformed into her true form as a fire goddess. Her large eyes were consumed with red fire, and her body was glowing. Kaisa reached out to touch her sister again, her voice hoarse from the dry air and screaming.

"No.." she rasped painfully. "Do not go..please..."

Takumi almost looked sad for a moment, before she melted into the ground and disappeared in a plume of smoke.


	4. Entwined Fates

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Loki watched numbly as Takumi stumbled backwards, away from them, her large brown eyes filling with tears. Kaisa screamed something unintelligible, tears sliding down her face and spilling onto the marble floor in puddles. Loki could do nothing but stand there in utter shock, unable to move or hear. Thor was standing only a couple inches next to him, in the same state of confusion. Takumi said something once more, her voice growing soft with... sadness, maybe?

"Sister!" Kaisa wailed, breaking the strange spell. Loki jolted back to reality, and for the first time in what felt like forever, he could see what was going on. Kaisa cried out again, her voice cracking with pain. "You are my sister, no matter what they say!"

There was a moment of bittersweet understanding as Takumi and Kaisa stared at each other. Loki felt a surprising pang of.. understanding? for the two sisters. He watched as Kaisa reached for her once more, her hands shaking.

Then everything exploded.

Takumi turned into something that even Loki had not seen before, her entire body glowing with orange and her eyes consumed with red fire. Their bodies flew backwards from the heated blast- Loki felt something in his wrist snap painfully, and he groggily looked upwards to see the fire goddess staring sadly at them. He tried to open his mouth to say something, anything that could help, but Kaisa beat him to it.

"No.. Do not go.. please.." the girl begged, her face dirty from the explosion. Takumi gave her sister a sad expression and her body melted into the ground, disappearing in a cloud of black smoke.

And just like that, she was gone.

* * *

Loki sat on the golden steps of the palace, carefully wrapping his broken wrist. With a disdainful scowl, he got up from his spot and looked down at the kingdom of Asgard. The night sky stretched over the now quiet city, large clouds gathering up near the bridge. He smiled a little to himself, perhaps there would be a storm tonight.

For some reason, he felt utterly empty inside. He cursed himself for it; for what reason would he be feeling this way? Was it that blasted girl? Takumi Vanir?

Hell, he didn't even know her. They met for a split moment, their eyes gazing into one another for a minute before tearing away. But there was something nagging in the very pit of his stomach, something that hadn't left him alone since the girl made her escape. Loki grit his teeth. The touch of her skin against his lips still lingered, the way her eyes looked at him was burned into his brain.

Loki grudgingly opened the door and walked inside, resisting the urge to throw punches at the wall. He didn't want to be married anyway, he was forced to do that with Sigyn and look how that turned out. It was a disaster; and it only reinforced that Loki wasn't meant to be loved. He would be forever alone, and he had been okay with that. But what about now?

_She is nothing but a petulant girl. _He tried to convince himself. _She is useless, worthless, not even a morsel of interest to someone like me. I would do nothing but make her life miserable. _

Even with those thoughts churning in his head, he couldn't help but remember the argument betwixt the two sisters. Truthfully, he was surprised that Takumi wasn't Vanir blood, she was in fact kidnapped as a baby from the Fire Realm. To know that she was used as nothing but a pawn was almost a comfort- there was someone out there just like him.

Just like him... maybe she felt as though she wasn't meant to be loved either.

As he turned the corner to get to his chambers, someone else slammed into him, making him stumble backwards for a moment. He caught his footing and stared angrily at the perpetrator, seeing Thor staring dumbly back at him. The both of them stared at one another for a moment.

"Aren't you going to say you are sorry?" Loki asked tightly.

"..I am sorry." Thor muttered, sounding sincere. He fiddled with his hands for a moment before looking back up at Loki with large eyes. "Brother?"

Loki swallowed back a bitter response. "Yes, Thor?"

"The Vanir sisters... they are like us, are they not?"

Loki mused over the statement for a moment before answering. "I suppose so. Why must you ask?"

Thor wiped his hair from his face. "I am worried for Kaisa. She has done nothing but cry since the disappearance of Takumi. Father has sent the guards to look for her, for she could not have gone far, but..."

"I am sure she is fine." Loki said coldly. "She cannot hide forever."

Thor fiddled with his hands once more. "I do not like it when ladies cry."

Loki almost rolled his eyes at Thor. The great and mighty Thor, being reduced to the pitiful man he is today was almost amusing. Loki gave him a half-bent smile and put his good hand on Thor's arm. "She is your wife, after all. Go and comfort her."

"She is not my wife. Tis not yet." Thor said gloomily, staring down at the floor with wide blue eyes. Then his gaze flickered up to Loki. "And you brother, your wife is off in the Asgardian lands someplace."

Loki stiffened and took his hand off him. "So be it. I do not wish to be married anyhow."

To his annoyance, Thor gave him a small smile. "She reminds me much of you, Loki."

"Amusing." Loki said coldly.

"Brother, do not be that way. You know I mean it sincerely." Thor's light expression dropped. "You cannot deny how similar your fates are twined together, however."

Loki remained silent, his stomach churning with distaste. He loathed how similar they were turning out to be.

"Tis no matter." he scoffed, waving it away with his good hand. "I must go to my chambers now and nurse my wrist. You should comfort Kaisa, for I am sure she could use it."

"Perhaps." Thor said softly. "Have a good slumber, brother. I do hope they find Takumi by the morning."

Loki pressed his lips together and just nodded before heading down the dark hall. He hoped that by the morning, Takumi would either be gone or dead.


	5. Flashbacks

**_Authors Note: This story is just made for fun. Hope you guys like it. :)_**

**_Review!_**

* * *

_"Come on, Kaisa!" Takumi's voice floated through the trees. Kaisa struggled to get over the branches and leaves, nearly out of breath. She heard Takumi's voice again. "You're so slow! Come on! You'll miss it!" _

_Kaisa huffed and pulled herself up once more, brushing her long hair from her face. Finally she got to the top of the hill and could see Takumi sitting there, a joyous expression on her face. _

_"Why did you make me come all the way up here?" Kaisa whined, plopping down next to her. _

_Takumi made a face, her short black hair blowing in different directions. "Honestly, Kaisa, you're so boring! Didn't you have fun on the way up?"  
_

_"No." Kaisa pouted. She saw Takumi's face fall and she hurriedly rephrased. "I mean, it was just really hard! I don't know how to move through the forest like you."_

_"Whatever." Takumi stopped talking and gazed at the horizon, strangely fixated. Kaisa stared at the same place, but she couldn't see what the big deal was. _

_"What's going on?" she complained, scratching her leg. "I can't see anything!"_

_"Shut up or we'll miss it!" Takumi slapped her hand over Kaisa's mouth, her eyes shining with curious joy._

_"Miss what?" she asked, her voice muffled. _

_Takumi smiled at her, her small face shining with sweat and dirt but looking like the happiest child on the realm. "The migration of the Whipporil birds making their way out of Vanaheim! Today is the only day they're gonna travel!" _

_"Whipporil birds?" Kaisa sat up, the itchiness suddenly forgotten. "I thought they were extinct. Father said so!" _

_"Father was wrong." Takumi giggled, her ten year old demeanor showing through. "I found them last years! I wanted to show you, but yous was too busy with training." _

_Kaisa felt a pang of guilt. "I am sorry. We should tell Father about this the moment we get home!" _

_"NO!" Takumi looked panicked, her eyes gone wide with fear. "NO!" _

_"Why?" Kaisa was alarmed, never had she seen Takumi more angry. "Why can we not?"_

_"He would kill them." Takumi whispered, staring into the sky with a frightened expression. "I know he will Kaisa. He never likes to be wrong."_

_Kaisa remained silent for a moment. Takumi was right. Father hated being wrong, he loathed it more than anything. Surely he would not kill those innocent animals, would he? She sighed and decided to keep this little surprise to herself. It would not hurt for him to not know. It would her and Takumi's secret. _

_Finally, after a couple more moments of silence, she heard the strange cry of the birds. Takumi shook her shoulder and cried out. "Look Kaisa! I told you so!" _

_"I see it! I see it!" she couldn't control her excitement. The birds flew above them in a beautifully graceful river, their wings wide and multicolored. They were the same color as a rainy day, their feathers looking as though they were made of nothing but pure air. Takumi had been right- they were not extinct. And Kaisa was glad that they were not. _

_It was their little secret. _

Kaisa awoke the sounds of crackling fire, her heart leaping at the noise. At first she thought it was Takumi, making her way back to the palace through fire, but then she realized it was nothing but the fireplace. It was a bitter realization.

"Takumi.. you foolish bitch." Kaisa blinked back more tears, angrily wiping her eyes with her hands. The dream that she had still lingered in her mind, Takumi's young voice still echoing around the room. It was a treasured memory of hers, one of the only times where she dared to defy their father and actually sneak out. It was the most fun she had in a long time, even though she had been scratched by the forest trees and grass. How old had they been then? Takumi was eight... she had been ten years.

And now.. and now there was this.

She wondered what she had done wrong. Was she not a good enough sister to her? Perhaps she made Takumi feel inferior, always persisting that she be lady-like and act like a true princess. Of course, Takumi never did, she always tore her dresses and got muddy.

"Gods, I hate you Takumi!" she whispered fiercely. She curled her hands into small fists, her nails biting painfully into her skin. Goddamn Takumi always being messy and wild, never caring once about her duties as a princess. Never once had she followed the rules, she always had to do things her way. If she had just followed Father's directions the way she was supposed to, she wouldn't have to be hunted down like an animal.

Her chamber door slowly opened and in walked the blonde god; her future husband. Thor, was that his name?

"I thought you would feel better with company." he said, quietly closing the door behind him. "Do you feel better, Lady Vanir?"

Kaisa blinked at the formality. "Yes, I do." she said softly.

"I am glad." he said softly, sitting gently on the bed next to her. He cast a worried glance in her direction. "You are worried?"

She breathed deeply, unclenching her fists and folding her hands neatly across her lap. "Of course I am. My sister... as stubborn as she is, she is still family."

"Tis understandable. Loki was the same way," he laughed tonelessly. "The All-Father was not happy with Loki for the longest time. They still have arguments to this day."

Kaisa laughed bitterly. Takumi and their father fought constantly. That's all they ever did. Sometimes it was over Takumi's terribly wild behavior, or the fact that she was always getting into a mess and Kaisa had to rescue her. She never really remembered any of them- she always hid in her chambers and read a good book while it was going on.

Maybe she should have listened.

They sat there for a moment, just listening to the fire crackle. The blonde god cleared his throat and gazed at her softly with large eyes. "Lady Vanir, may I ask you something?"

_Hm? _"Yes.. yes of course."

He cleared his throat again, as though he was uncomfortable. "Your sister, Takumi, is not your blood relative?"

"No." Kaisa stared coldly at the fire, her heart freezing as reality sunk in. She distinctly remembered her sister before she disappeared, her body engulfed in flames and smoke. "No, she is not."

"What happened?" he asked gently, in such a way that surprised her.

"Why does it matter?" she asked dully.

He smiled sadly at her. "Do you know anything about Asgard, Lady Vanir? Why- just a century ago, Loki found out that he is not of Asgardian blood. His true parentage lives in Jotunheim with the Frost Giants. And his father, Laufey, was willing to abandon him the moment he got the chance. The moment Loki realized this, he became angry. So angry, in fact, that he was willing to bend to extreme levels to hurt us."

Kaisa paused. "Takumi is not much different, I am afraid."

"Then there is no shame in telling." Thor said gently.

She chuckled dryly and wiped her hair backwards. "I suppose not. Well, a while before we were arranged to be married Takumi was rummaging through Father's secret room. He had told us time and time again to never go there.. that it was forbidden.." Her voice cracked a little and she stopped to catch her breath. "Takumi never listens, she thought of it as an adventure."

"Mischevious, is she?" Thor smiled.

Kaisa nodded. "Oh yes she is indeed. So mischevious that she snuck past our guards and went though Father's documents. And that's when she found the paper declaring her kidnapping."

"Kidnapping?"

"Aye." Kaisa angrily wiped the tears from her face. She spoke as though she had heard the story a million times before. "Her true parents perished in the war. As the flames of the fire realm started to die, Father spotted a crying infant in the embers of a ruined building. It was a baby girl, with the symbol of the fire kingdom carved into the palm of her hand. He knew instantly who she had belonged to, but he could not take her back. So he smuggled her out of the remaining realm, using magic to make her look like a Vanaheimian."

"And now she has realized her true calling..?" Thor trailed off.

Kaisa breathed deeply, her heart aching inside her chest. "She is not one of them. No matter how mischevious or strange she gets, she is still my sister. I will make her see the truth."

"To marry my brother?" Thor raised his eyebrows. "Loki is not excited about the marriage arrangement either."

"They are perfect for each other." Kaisa muttered, curling her feet by the fireplace. Her wet dress had dried long ago, and to feel warmth pouring back into her body after a day such as today felt immensely relieving. Thor simply sat by her side quietly, his hammer off to the side of them. She took a quick glance over at him and saw sadness lined in his eyes. She wondered for a moment why he was staring off like that when something quickly caught her eye.

There was a small flicker of fire in the windowsill. As she turned her head and stared at it, it disappeared into a small wisp of smoke. She blinked for a couple seconds, wondering if she had just seen it.

But then she saw it again, just a flash of light streaking by the window. Kaisa couldn't help but smile tearfully to herself.

Takumi hadn't left. At least not yet.


	6. Fire and Ice

The next morning Kaisa woke with a pounding headache. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room, surprised to see that Thor wasn't there. Hadn't he been the room the night before?

She grit her teeth and tried to stretch out her aching muscles. The talk she had with the blonde god suddenly came to mind, and she abruptly stopped and turned to the window, now glowing bright with sun.

The small wisp of fire that she had seen the previous night was gone. A wave of sadness passed over her as she stared at the window, tears gathering up in her eyes as easily as it had the night before. It wasn't hard to see that Takumi was long gone, probably turned back into her human form so she wasn't as recognizable.

Kaisa got to her feet and ran a hand down her wrinkled, damp dress. The beautiful Vanaheim fabric was ruined with dust and water, and the very edges of the hem were singed with ashes. Her feet were bare and covered in black soot, as though she had been trudging though piles of Takumi's rampage. Kaisa shook her head as she walked over to the dresser. How long was this madness going to last? She wasn't sure how long she could stand being in a strange new realm without her sister before going insane. She tore off her dress in disdain and threw it onto the bed- watching the thing float carefully to the ground.

Pulling on the silky Asgardian dress, she tied the small sash behind her and pulled on the shoes. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she was horrified to see how she looked. Her hair was frizzy and in clumps, the makeup that she had so carefully applied in Vanaheim had run down her face and dried. And to make things worse, there was a streak of black ash smashed across her cheek and stretched up to her ears.

"Goddamn." she cursed, forgetting about her vow to be a lady. She couldn't go out facing the royal court of Asgard looking like this.

Kaisa slowly walked over to the bed and grabbed her old dress. With a grimace, she dipped it into the water bowl that lay on a table and carefully wiped her face off, wincing all the while. Oh- how Father would be disappointed to see her wiping her face with her own realm's garments.

_But I'm not a Vanaheimian anymore. _She thought miserably. _I will be an Asgardian here soon. _

The very thought was a tad terrifying, something that made her freeze in her tracks. She dropped the dress into the bowl and tore her hands through her hair, trying to get out the tangles. Pain flashed though her head, but she didn't stop until her fingers trailed through the brown strands like water.

Finally, she stared back in the mirror and was satisfied to see that she looked more like herself. She stared at the other girl in the mirror for a while, lost in her thoughts. Kaisa blinked once as the image in the mirror started to twist and turn, and she no longer saw her. She saw Takumi, her hair dyed brown and her eyes huge and chocolate colored. Her sister sneered at her, her normally beautiful eyes flashing with fury. Kaisa flinched once and nearly screamed, if not for her door that suddenly swung open.

"Lady..?" Thor peeked his head in, and Kaisa let out a shriek and flinched. He flinched in surprise and banged his head on the wall. "Ow."

"Oh.. Thor..." Kaisa tried to stop her panicking heart. "I am so sorry. Are you alright?"

Thor closed his eyes for a moment, a red lump already forming on his forehead. "I am alright, Lady Vanir. I am sorry if I scared you so."

Kaisa walked over to him and held a hand up to his face, feeling both guilty and amused at the same time. "Just a little bit. What is it?"

"You are needed in the main hall." Thor said quietly, a sad look passing over his face. Kaisa felt her heart drop in fear. "It is Takumi."

"Did they find her? Is she alright?" Kaisa bit back her cry.

"They found nothing. The soldiers have been searching all over the kingdom since last night, and there has been no trace of her. Even Heimdall the All-Seeing cannot locate her." Thor's voice grew soft. "Loki wishes to speak to you about his future queen."

"Loki?" Kaisa swallowed in anxiety. "I thought that this is what he wished for, to not be wed."

Thor shook his head. "I do not understand my brother's actions, Kaisa. I can only do as he wishes. She is his courter, and he deserves to know."

"I will try." she said softly, following after Thor and closing the door behind her.

* * *

Loki sat patiently in a chair, waiting for Thor and his lady to arrive. His fingers drummed the armrest, and his eyes flickered over to the long end of the hallway. He was anxious, his stomach twisting and turning. Takumi Vanir. He winced as the name once more made his heart jump. There was absolutely nothing about the girl that stood out, except for the fact that they shared a similar fate.

He was from an ice realm, she was from the fire realm. And it was expected that two opposite elements get along and married? Unable to sleep during the night, Loki had busied himself by studying past kings and queens of Asgard and Vanaheim. To his disturbance, none of the couples had such drastic changes. None of them were different elements of each other.

Fire destroys ice. Ice murders fire. The two elements SIMPLY could not be compatible. Even if he wanted it to be.. but he didn't.

Loki gripped the armrest, his patience gone. How did Odin expect him to marry a hot-headed damsel?

"Brother." he heard a soft voice echoing down the hall. He quickly turned his head and saw Thor walking towards him, Kaisa quietly following behind him like a tame puppy.

"Brother." Loki said lamely, getting up from his chair. He bowed swiftly in front of Kaisa, who just gave him a small smile in return. "How did you sleep, Lady Kaisa?"

"Fine." she said softly.

"Brother, I have done as you requested." Thor said, gently taking Kaisa's hand and squeezing it. "Kaisa is willing to answer your questions about Takumi, provided that you will not give up on the search for her."

"I must have my sister back!" Kaisa suddenly exclaimed, surprising Loki. "Surely you understand."

"I do." he lied, studying her intently. "You have my word."

"Thank you." Thor gave him a friendly pat on his shoulders before kissing Kaisa's hand and striding down the hall, his cape billowing behind him.

There was a moment of silence between Loki and Kaisa. He stared at the sullen woman and briefly wondered if she was truly worried for Takumi. Or perhaps Kaisa just did not want to suffer being wed alone. Perhaps there was no sisterly bond as he had previously thought.

"Loki." her soft voice cut through his thoughts. "Are you alright?"

He broke out of his trance. "Y..Yes." he stuttered, trying to gather his mind. "I am just curious."

"About?"

"You cannot expect me to believe you and Takumi are as close as you seem to be." he said, his voice slightly bitter. "Why did she run away, Kaisa?"

A look of shock and hurt passed over the girl's face. "She is my sister. If you are suggesting that I wanted my sister to be hunted like an animal, then you do not deserve her hand!"

"It was simply a question." Loki muttered.

"That was an accusation." Kaisa bit angrily, her cheeks flushing with red. "She ran because she did not want to be married to an arrogant prince such as yourself!"

Loki widened his eyes at her insults, but merely went on. "Fair enough, Lady Vanir. She is a fire element, is she not?"

Kaisa fumed for a moment. "Yes."

"Do you know what fire elements are capable of?" Loki almost wanted to smile at the rage on her face.

"No." Kaisa breathed a sigh of defeat. "I do not. I did not know she was even a fire elemental until weeks before the proposal."

Loki leaned against the wall. "Then you must not know that they are highly unstable and dangerous. She is like any other fire elemental, with the ability to transform into a flame. They are nearly undetectable unless they are in human form."

"What do you want?" Kaisa interrupted, holding her hand up to silence him. "You do not wish to ask me questions, do you?"

Loki grinned half-heartedly. "Truthfully, no, Lady Vanir. However I wish to find your sister as much as you do."

"Why?" her hands balled into tiny fists. "Why do you even care, Loki Laufeyson? Is this a sick game to you?"

"Tis not." he leaned in closer, anger glinting in his eyes. "But as you know, there are far worse things in Asgard than arrogant princes, mind you."

Kaisa's eyes widened in terror. "What do you mean?"

"Frost Giants." Loki whispered. "Masters of the Ice Realm. Enemy of the Fire Realm."

"You are a Frost Giant!" Kaisa snapped. "You are no threat to you, are you?"

"I am not. But what about the others?" Loki gazed at her meticulously. "If she stumbles on the wrong path, things will take a dire turn for the worst."

"She knows right from wrong." Kaisa sniffed, locking her eyes on Loki's. He was surprised to see how much anger was in them, how much pent up rage she had. "She has done bad things in the past, but she will not endanger herself that way. She just wants to go home!"

"What home?" he asked, his voice quieter.

Kaisa was quiet for a moment. "Back to Vanaheim, perhaps."

"Why would she travel there?" Loki scoffed. "Would she not have sense enough to go to her birthplace?"

"The Fire Realm is gone." Kaisa snapped. "Twas stomped towards the ground in the great war. There is nothing left but the smoldering embers."

Loki shrugged. "You never know. Perhaps there were survivors like herself."

Kaisa remained silent.

"If there were, then she could finally be accepted for who she is. She would place herself above them and become the heir." he casually implied, his eyes gazing at the startled princess. "If she were to do that, then she could easily extract her revenge on the ones that hurt her most." He didn't have to say what, he knew Kaisa knew exactly what he meant.

"No.." she whispered. Then she glanced up at him. "How do you know this!?" she hissed.

Loki gave her a startled look. "History repeats itself."

She absorbed this for a moment before gritting her teeth and glaring at him. A sharp finger was pointed in his face, and a scowling princess looked up at him.

"You listen here." she snapped. "If the tales you are telling me are bound to be true, then we must try to stop it. She is my sister and your wife-to-be. We must save her from herself."

Loki opened his mouth to argue, but closed it. A delicious plan was forming in his mind. "And how will we do that, Lady Kaisa?"

"Easy." Kaisa gave him a stern look. "Let's go to the ruins of the Fire Realm."

* * *

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	7. Heimdall's Decision

"I cannot believe you are doing this." Kaisa heard Thor mutter behind her. She ignored him and kept her eyes on the road before her, taking note of every step they were taking. They were back on the rainbow bridge, and she studied the changing colors underneath her feet instead of Loki and Thor- who were having a small argument.

"Brother, I have told you that we will be safe." Loki growled. "There is nothing left on that realm."

"Of that we cannot be sure." Thor snapped.

"You are the one that wishes for battle." Loki added sulkily.

"I have learned better. And so have you, Loki." Thor bit in reply.

Kaisa sighed heavily and clutched her shawl around her head a little tighter. The two of them had been fighting the ever since she had decided to go to the Fire Realm with Loki. The small talk she had with the God of Mischief hadn't exactly gone down smoothly, and Kaisa found herself itching to punch the man in the face. He had accused her, for gods sakes. Accused her of making her sister feel as though she was inferior.

Even though it burned her to admit it though, he had made some valid points. There was nowhere for Takumi to escape to, unless she traveled back to the place where she was born. It may look burnt out and gone, but there could have been some survivors. All Takumi had to do was find them and create her own army of fire and death before marching to Vanaheim and killing their father.

Kaisa shuddered. As much as she hoped that Takumi wouldn't go down that path, she couldn't be sure. All she could do was try and find her, plead with her and try to make her come back and marry the arrogant God of Mischief. She would get on her hands and knees if she had to, even cry. She just wanted her sister back.

Her little sister.

A cold wind rushed past her, ruffling her dress and soaking the damp weather into her bones. It was a miserable day to be out, heavy clouds hung low in the sky and droplets of rain splattered onto them. Kaisa stopped at the back of a man wearing a golden helm, standing completely still as though he was a statue. She heard both Loki and Thor arguing again, but their voices hushed to a whisper and then stopped completely.

For a moment, Kaisa felt as though she was frozen, just like that man. Her fingers clutched the woolen shawl anxiously.

"Sir..?" she whispered, her voice nearly invisible.

"Princess." the voice was so strong that she nearly flinched. She recognized it right away- it was the golden-eyed man who escorted her and Takumi out of their carriage. "Today is not a good day to be out. Tis dreary."

Kaisa took a small step forward. "I am wanting to visit my homeland realm, for I am homesick. My future husband and his brother have agreed to escort me."

"You are not dressed properly." the man droned. "The Fire Realm is a dangerous place, miss."

"E... excuse me?" she stumbled over her words, her mouth dropping open in surprise. She felt Thor's heavy hand on her shoulder, a reassuring touch.

"Heimdall." he said quietly. "You must let us through."

"I cannot." Heimdall said stiffly. "For I am the protector of Asgard, bound by Odin's word."

"This concerns Kaisa's runaway sister, Takumi Vanir." Thor insisted. "She is nowhere to be found."

There was a moment of silence. "Aye." Heimdall said at last. "The searches have been fruitless, I am afraid. I can see her, but I cannot see where she is. There is something blocking my sight."

"Perhaps your gift has weakened from many years of service." Loki said smoothly, earning a flinch of him. "We believe she has traveled into the Fire Realm."

"I see." was all Heimdall said. Kaisa felt panic flutter in her chest, constricting her airways. She lurched forwards and grabbed Heimdall's helm and tugged hard on it, her hands fisted into the golden cloth.

"My sister is in danger!" she said angrily. "You will not stand in our way!"

"Kaisa!" Thor grabbed her waist and pulled forcefully backwards, causing her to let go. "Be civil!"

"I will not let him stand there and block my path!" Kaisa felt her face flush red with embarrassment, but netherless, she tried to get out of Thor's iron grip. "You must let us though, Heimdall!"

"I do not have to do anything of the sort." the man said, his voice hinting a touch of pity. "For I am the guardian of Asgard, bound by word to Odin."

Kaisa stopped struggling for a moment. "Please.. I need to find her."

"If you are to die in the Fire Realm, that is something that will be on you." Heimdall said quietly. "I cannot protect you, neither can the safety of Asgard. Is that understood, Princess Kaisa?"

"Understood." Kaisa felt her cheeks flush with relief.

There was a loud creaking noise, and the ground underneath them shook. She watched in flustered anticipation as Heimdall turned his staff and opened the portal to the Fire Realm, the gates shining with white light and bright stars. Thor took her hand as he led her into the small circling dome, with Loki stepping right behind. The three of them stood right in front of the giant tear. Kaisa blinked as she saw what looked like to be an endless beam of stars and constellations. As breathtaking as it was, Heimdall's voice still cut through.

"Be careful and ever vigilant." he murmured, staring straight at them.

"We have no plans to die today." Thor said in return, squeezing Kaisa's hand tightly.

"None do." Heimdall said simply, before the portal twisted and snatched up the three people in a haze of white, blinding light.

* * *

For a blinding moment, everything was fuzzy. Kaisa could barely catch her breath as she hurled through time and space, her body tumbling through the stars as if they were one thing. She couldn't breathe, it was though all the air was forced from her lungs.

Then she was back on the ground, her feet on top of blackened grass and burnt embers. Wind barreled its way back into her throat, and she breathed it deep gulps of hot, humid air. She nearly choked on it.

"This is an uncomfortable place to be." Loki muttered, looking around them with distaste. He gave Kaisa a disgruntled look. "I do wish your sister is here."

Thor grunted and put his hammer in the loop on his belt. "Gather your bearings, brother. You will only be here for a small while."

Loki gave Thor a disgusted look. "If the need arises, I will just transform into my Jotunn form. Pity that this realm is filthy."

Kaisa tuned out the two brothers' argument and focused on the scene around her. She looked for anything that Takumi could be taking refuge in; a house, a forest, anything that was big enough to hold a slender girl. But there was absolutely nothing. _Father had been right. _She thought glumly. When the war had taken place, they had destroyed everything.

She walked alongside the dusty path, each step bringing up a cloud of black ash. A huge pile of ruins lay off the side into the dusty field- everything covered with a layer of fine ash. She walked over to the edge of it, her feet just barely touching the first splinter of wood. Her fingers reached out and touched the charred embers. It crumbled in the palm of her hand and was carried away by the hot wind. She sighed. What was this ruin? Had it once been a building? Had it once housed a family? Or was it a part of a great conspiracy ready to plot against their government?

Kaisa let out a shuddering breath and let go of the remaining ash. It left behind a fine black dust.

"I do not do that." Thor shouted, causing Kaisa to turn her head towards them. She saw the two brothers staring at each other as though they were ready to fight on the spot.

"Yes you do. That is one of your many irritating traits." Loki said maliciously.

A dark smile crossed over Thor's face. "A least I do not have a child whom is a horse."

"You rat." Loki hissed. "I will have you beheaded for that!"

Kaisa cleared her throat, feeling her face blush red from the things she had overheard. "I am sorry to interrupt your chat, but we really must be moving. There is nothing here."

Thor shot a glare at Loki before turning to her. "Aye, we shall."

Loki gave him a dark look before muttering a single, "Yes" and following sulkily behind them.

* * *

_I'm taking a break from my sequel "Fear Itself", mainly because I'm having trouble with transitions. I promise, I'll get better at updating that! But for now, I'll do this. Sorry to the followers :/_

_On the upside, there's this story! I haven't really taken it seriously.. but more of you seem to enjoy it than I thought. So I guess I'll take it further. :)_

_Review :)_


	8. The Fire Realm

They walked for a little while longer, in silence. There wasn't really much to say; they all shared the same goal and knew what kind of troubles would lay ahead if they achieved that goal.

Kaisa grimaced as her foot plunged into another dusty hole, something sharp scraping at her ankle. She pulled out her foot and examined it, curling her lip in disgust as she saw a thin, red line start to emerge. Crimson liquid welled up from the tiny cut and ran down her foot in a tiny stream. _Great. _She thought sarcastically, feeling a flush of irritation come over her.

"Lady Kaisa?" she heard Thor say tentatively. "Are you alright?"

Kaisa threw her dress back over her ankle and looked up at him. "Yes, Thor. I'm fine."

"You fell into a hole, did you not?" Loki grinned at her mischievously. Kaisa bit her lip angrily and gave him a hard glare.

"Perhaps. That is not important." she said coldly. "We are here to find my sister."

"And find your sister we shall." Thor said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Kaisa just gave him a weak smile in return and brushed by him, making sure to give Loki a hard bump on the way.

* * *

There seemed to be an endless amount of ashes. There were no trees left, only ragged black stumps left in the ground. There were no plants, no animals that flew above them in the sky, no sign of life anywhere. A hot wind blew down on the trio; blowing ashes and dust into their faces. The scouring sun above them started to set. Kaisa stopped walking for a moment and looked up at the darkened sky, her heart plummeting into her chest.

There wasn't any more light. And even though they hadn't seen anyone the entire time they had arrived, she still had a dangerous feeling about the place at night. And there was no sign of Takumi.

"This is useless!" she said at last, throwing her hands up in the air in desperation. "She is not here!"

"Tis almost night." Loki said thoughtfully staring up at the sky. "Curious. No stars are visible."

"It is covered by the ashes." Thor said drearily.

"This was a mistake." Kaisa clenched her hands angrily, tears springing up in her eyes. "There is nothing left of this barren realm!"

"Nothing that we can see." muttered Loki.

Kaisa whirled around and struck Loki as hard as she could, the palm of her hand smacking into his face and sending him flying onto the ground. The god stared up at her with total shock, as though he couldn't comprehend what had happened.

"Your idea was just a waste of our precious time! There are no clues here, only DUST!" Kaisa kicked at the ash, tears spilling down her dirty cheeks. "You are a lie, Laufeyson!"

"How could I have known that?" Loki snarled, holding his face. "I was only trying to help you, miserable brat."

Kaisa blinked at the insult. "You dare call me spoilt? Look at yourself! You do not get a hand lain on you, not for a single moment!"

"At least I do not cater to my Father's every last whim." he purred maliciously, a gleam shining in his emerald eyes.

"Brother.." Thor warned.

"At least I do not have a criminal record of trying to take over a realm!" Kaisa yelled.

Loki's face twisted. "I would have been a glorious king."

"You say glorious, I say controlling and cold." she growled. "You are despicable and I wish for you to disappear!"

"Kaisa! Loki! ENOUGH!" Thor yelled loudly, brandishing his hammer. The two of them stopped fighting for a moment and stared at the usually peaceful Thor, their faces twisted in anger and shock. Thor angrily gripped his weapon. "Fighting is useless. We are supposed to be a family and to get along."

"I cannot get along with this." Kaisa said sharply, pointing at Loki.

"And I cannot stand that disgusting creature." Loki sniffed, turning away.

"We-" Thor started, but was interrupted by a large cracking behind them. He turned to see the charred ground starting to shift underneath them, rocks flying upwards.

"What the hell?" Loki took a step back, his emerald eyes huge. Kaisa involuntarily flinched into him and made a whimpering sound. Thor's mouth dropped open.

The ground suddenly exploded. All the trio could do was watch in horror as the huge hole started to grow bigger, and a black figure starting to rise out of the ground. At first it was pitch-black, but there was a faint orange glow that spread over it's arms and over it's chest. It grew brighter, fire jumping off it's shoulders and reaching up towards the sky. Two evil, red eyes peered out from it's face. It seemed to grin at them, it's mouth opening in an fiery smile and molten lava dripping off it's jaw.

"Takumi...?" Kaisa whispered.

The beast let out a loud scream in response and bounded on all fours, it's massive paws scorching the already black ground. It's entire body was now glowing red. The fire creature stretched towards them, it's mouth twisted up into a cruel smile.


	9. The Chase Part 1

The trio stared up at the monster, their faces agape in horror. It snarled at them, a small glop of molten lava flying from it's jaw and landing at Loki's feet.

"Now would be an excellent time to leave," he said quietly, his voice shaky.

Thor tightened his arm around Kaisa. "It seems so."

With that, Thor swung Kaisa onto his shoulder and bolted in the other direction, with Loki following closely behind. The beast roared and thundered after them.

"Oh my god!" Kaisa shrieked, lifting up her head just enough to see a flaming monster running closely behind her. She couldn't do anything but try to hang on tightly to Thor, her body being roughly bumped and jarred around by his tight grip.

Thor grunted as he plowed through a charred patch of what was left of a forest. Burnt sticks and sharp rocks ripped at his armor and skin, and he let out a pained howl as something sharp tore through his leg. But then he heard the scream of the blazing fire monster, and that was enough to power through the pain and propel his body forward. He was barely aware of Loki running beside him, panic painted on his brother's face.

"Split up!" Loki screamed over the sound of crackling fire.

Thor grit his teeth and did as Loki said by quickly changed his direction, which was harder from the weight of Kaisa's body. Before he could move any faster, he felt his foot slip from underneath him, and even as he desperately tried to catch himself, he could still feel himself going forwards in an unsightly way. Kaisa let out a scream as she felt her body slam against the ground. She rolled on the sharp rocks and finally skidded to a stop, her skin burning from the unforgivable sand. She lay there for a moment in disbelief, and then she heard the howl of the creature nearby.

"Oh god! Thor!" Kaisa couldn't help screaming out. She shakily picked herself off the ground and tried to find him, but it was too dark.

It was pitch black, in fact.

She could see the blazing monster in the distance, probably chasing after Loki. She breathed a sigh of relief before fear seized her again. She had to find Thor and get away from this place.

"Thor.. Thor.." she panted, feeling tears streak down her cheeks again. "Answer me!"

There was no sound.

"Oh my god.. oh my god.." Kaisa felt as though she was walking in circles. This was terrible. How was she going to find him now if he was unconscious? Or worse, dead?

There was finally a soft groan in the distance.

"Thor!" she said tearfully, looking around. "Where are you?"

"I..." another soft moan. "Here.."

Kaisa followed his voice and finally, her foot touched something soft and warm. She knelt down and felt something wet brush her fingertips. She breathed in a sharp breath as she realized what she was touching.

"Thor.." she sobbed quietly. "You are bleeding. Oh my.. I am so sorry for this.."

"No matter." Thor said quietly, groaning as he tried to move. "Where is.. ouch.. Loki?"

"I do not know!" she cried.

Thor painfully sat up and rubbed his burning shoulders. In the darkness, he could vaguely see Kaisa sitting right next to him, tears streaked down her dark face. "Kaisa.. do not cry.."

"I'm sorry.. I know I shouldn't be crying.. but.." she sniffled. "I shouldn't have done this.. to either of you.."

"It's not your fault." Thor said gently. "You did not know the dangers that would be here."

The tears were burning her scratched face, and she wiped them away angrily. "We must get out of here at once."

"I know." Thor coughed and got to his feet, his muscles protesting the movement. "We must find Loki. Before that creature does."

* * *

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	10. Isn't it, honey?

_And now, part two of the chase. :) _

* * *

Loki dashed through the charred remains of the forests. He nearly tripped over his own feet more than once- the slippery ashes and dust making it almost impossible to run. As he turned to avoid the remnants of a tree, he fell into a mess of sticks and sand. Grunting with effort, his hand grabbed a branch and pulled himself up.

A howl ripped through the hair, sending chills down his spine. The creature was close.

He bit his lip and ran again; his body long since giving up but panic pushing his body further. There seemed to be a never-ending tunnel of darkness, and it was as if he was running blind.

The lava monster bounded closely behind, it's body lighting up the entire area. Loki dove behind whatever solid material he could find, and crouched down to the ground. He bought his knees up to his chest and tried to keep his breathing as soft as possible- but it was no use. He could hear the soft growling of the creature slowly coming towards him.

Gathering all of his strength, he peeked his head out from the tree and saw the advancing monster. The thing seemed to grin at him, as if to say that it knew **exactly **where he was hiding. Instead of lurching forward and making the end come swifter, it started to slink forward in a stalking motion, it's mouth open wide in an evil grin.

Loki sat there, his eyes wide and his body frozen in panic. _Transform into your Jotun form, you fool! _He thought to himself, blinking back tears of frustration. _Do it NOW! _

The monster crept forwards a little closer, sending Loki to his feet. He instinctively backed up, but a wall of charred remains waited behind him.

_Now.. now.. _Loki's mind screamed. He tried frantically to conjure up his Jotun form, but he was too terrified to do it right. _Hurry! Hurry! You idiot! _

Everything around him burst into flames, and Loki found himself staring into the horrible face of the lava monster. It roared in his face, sending a spiral of fiery smoke coming his way.

_NOW! _

Loki suddenly shot ice at the creature, his skin turning blue with ice and his eyes red. The monster shrieked and tumbled backwards, the ice pelting at it's skin like arrows. Loki put down his hands in shock and stared at the writhing creature for a moment before turning on his heel and running as fast as he could.

With a pained howl, the monster got to it's feet and glowed brighter, the ravaged parts of it's body regenerating back to health. It spied the running god and squinted it's glowing eyes.

The chase would ensue.

Loki gasped for air. His legs were growing wearier with each step, and his lungs were burning. He was starting to regret not training with Thor. He was supposed to do training everyday, but due to his obsession with magic, he hardly attended.

Now he regretted it.

Before he knew it, he was seeing flashes of light and had gritty ash in his mouth. His head lay atop the ground ground, and his ankle felt as though it was burning.

He had fallen to the ground like an oaf, and he had broken his ankle while he was at it.

Loki heaved a sigh and blinked back tears of utter terror. He was doomed. It wouldn't be long until that _thing _found him again and would tear him from limb to limb. He trembled in fear, suddenly freezing cold even though the air was hot. He was going to die now- for real this time.

It didn't seem real.

He thought back at Thor, who was probably stumbling through the realm with that stupid girl looking for him. Hopefully they would find his remains sprawled all over the ground, if the beast was kind enough to leave any.

He shuddered and closed his eyes. Perhaps death would be swift instead of slow and agonizing.

Something jostled at his arm, and he pushed back a scream and screwed his eyes shut even tighter. He didn't want to see the monster's face.

"Get up you idiot!" a voice hissed above him. "You'll die if you keep laying here!"

Loki snapped open his eyes and saw a hooded figure standing above him. "Am I dead?" he asked weakly.

"No, you fool!" the hooded figure snarled, pulling harder on his arm. "Now get the hell up! The beast will catch your scent any minute and come running over here and kill us both!"

"I.. I cannot." Loki confessed, the feeling of stupidity growing. "My ankle is broken."

"Oh for the love of-!" the figure growled. With a huff, they roughly grappled at Loki's shoulders and slowly bought him up to his feet. They slipped underneath his weight and stood for a moment while Loki's body adjusted to the extra help. "Lets go."

"Where are we going? There is no where to escape to!" Loki said exasperatingly. "The Fire Realm is a barren place!"

"Shut up. We need to keep going, and your stupid questions are going to get us caught." they snapped.

Loki pressed his lips together, a small ray of anger glimmering. Even though he was grateful for the rescue and another escape from death, the stranger's attitude was making him angry. Didn't they know who he was? Prince of Asgard, God of Mischief, the list could go on.

With the howls of the beast behind them, they were now venturing in total darkness. The only indication of life was the breathing figure underneath his shoulder. Their footsteps were mainly soft and careful, the sand crunching underneath their feet ever so slightly.

Loki pondered if the mysterious stranger was a friend or foe. They might have saved him this time, but perhaps they had a more horrendous end for him later. Or perhaps they were truly of good heart and wanted to help a helpless man lying on the ground. Who wouldn't pity a man waiting for death? He blinked a couple times, trying to see through the darkness. He could feel the hand on the person on his shoulder, and he wanted to turn around and see what it looked like. Was it man or a woman? The stranger certainly didn't sound manly. Yes- the movements were rough and hard, but the voice was delicate.

It was a voice that was suddenly all too familiar.

He suddenly felt himself drop to the ground. He let out a breathless moan as he lay on the ground.

There was a sound of moving rock- and then there was silence. It was so loud, Loki could actually hear the quiet bubbling through his ears.

Then a light flickered on out of nowhere. He squinted, unused to the light after so many hours of darkness.

The hooded figure moved within the light, their hand moving out from a lantern. Their fingers were glowing with a soft flame, and the person slowly moved from lantern to lantern, turning them on.

Loki sat up and looked around him. It seemed that they were in a cave, a large boulder blocking the only exit. A small bed was pushed against the wall of the cave, and up on the ceiling, there were many lanterns hanging from ropes. There wasn't much to it, but it was a shelter enough.

The hooded figure finished lighting the lanterns and turned to Loki, their face hidden underneath the cloth. Now that there was light, he could see that the fabric making the hood and robe was just brown burlap. It was dirty and grimy, and smeared with black ash. The figure caught him staring and shifted uncomfortably. "You're pretty stupid for a Prince, you know that?"

"Pardon?" Loki raised an eyebrow.

"You nearly died out there, running from that. What made you come to the Fire Realm anyway? You know what happens here when the sun falls down? Things like those creatures, and much worse, come out to feast on the idiots who blunder into here."

Loki shook his head. "We are looking for someone. It's not your concern."

"Actually- I'm pretty sure it is." the person reached up for their hood and bought it down, the burlap robe dropping to their feet in a dusty pile. Takumi gave him a mischevious smile. "Isn't it... honey?"


	11. Kindness

"Takumi?" Loki's mouth dropped open in surprise, and all he could do was stare at her with wide eyes.

Takumi gave him another wicked smile. "Surprised?"

"A.. a bit." he cleared his throat anxiously. "What are you doing? We have been searching for you all day!"

The smile dropped from the girl's face, and a scowl took it's place. "I know. I've been watching you guys from the moment you stepped into the Fire Realm. And here I thought you guys were stupid."

"You must come back, and go to Asgard." Loki growled. "It is because of you that we are in this mess in the first place."

"I'm not going back, Laufeyson." Takumi said dryly, shedding her robe and just dumping it onto the cot. Her tangled black hair spilled down her shoulders in a messy bun, and even though the cave was dim, he could still make out the torn and tattered Asgardian dress that she wore. Takumi stepped away from him and examined the lanterns hanging from the ceiling, as if they held some sort of mystical secret. "I can't go back."

"You must." he insisted. "Odin will not let your disappearance go lightly. Neither will your father."

"To hell with my father, and to Odin." she said calmly.

Loki pressed his lips together in frustration. This girl was stubborn. She wasn't going to leave without a fight, and he certainly couldn't do a thing with his ankle broken. Of course if he were back in Asgard, he could use magic to instantly heal himself, but he was in the Fire Realm instead, a land forbidden to magic. He sighed. Thor and Kaisa were either looking for him or heading back to the border.

Either way, they weren't going to find him. Takumi had hidden herself well.

"How did you survive such a barren place?" he asked after a long silence. Might as well try to find out as much as he could before doing anything rash.

Takumi shrugged and sat on the cot. "It's all fire."

"The land is dead." Loki insisted. "In the war, every last Fire element was killed. The King of this Realm was murdered for his violations against Asgard. Nothing is supposed to be living here. But that monster.." he spluttered for a moment before continuing, feeling the cold stare of the girl pressing on him. "That thing was alive. How do you explain that?"

There was a short silence, and then there was a giggle. He stared at Takumi's shaking shoulders, the brown burlap going up and down with her laughter. He was taken aback for a moment by her amused laughter.

"You really don't know shit," she laughed. "Just because your daddy declared this land to be dead doesn't mean that it is. Does this place look dead to you? Did the creature look dead to you, Laufeyson?"

Loki glared at her. "I have never been allowed past the border to the Fire Realm. Tis not my fault I don't know much."

"You read books, right?" Suddenly Takumi was in his face, her teeth grit together in anger. Loki gulped back his surprise.

"I do." he said quietly.

"And do those books tell you that people and animals still have the will to survive?" she snarled. "That there are such things as miracles?"

"Of course." Loki grimaced Those were the books that he hated the most, because they were simply stories and not information. They were useless tales, things that stuck around in his brain longer than magic spells. In fact, the stories were the things he remembered the most.

Takumi sighed, the anger in her eyes diminishing into dull frustration. "No matter what happened in the past, things still struggled to survive. It may look dead, but underneath it all, it's very much alive."

"I'm sorry if I offended you." Loki muttered, his mouth suddenly dry at the words. He wasn't used to apologizing for anything. "But Takumi, you must come back. The more you hide, the more you will be punished when you return."

She shrugged and got back up. "Whatever. Hey by the way, where's your goony brother and Kaisa? They were with you."

"We were separated when the monster attacked us. The thing, however, followed me and not them. I do believe they are safe, but I don't know where they are." Loki fiddled with his cape. He wasn't sure what else to do.

Takumi thought for a moment, gazing at the wall. "As long as the beast followed you, then it probably won't find them. Not tonight anyway."

"You mean we will not look for them now?" Loki raised an eyebrow. As much as he disliked Thor, he didn't want to see his remains scattered across the land. Odin would be very upset with that.

"It would be our death if we went out now. The darkness holds many creatures." Takumi sighed and rested back on the cot, looking weary. She glanced at him, her eyebrow cocked upwards. "We will search tomorrow, when the sun comes up."

Loki remained silent, worry gnawing at his gut. What she said made sense. It would be their demise if they wandered back in the darkness. But his mind kept wandering to Kaisa and Thor hiding in the dark someplace, shivering in fear just as he had, with the lava monster sniffing them out. All that ash and charred forest was hard to move through, and even with Thor's massive strength and bravery, it would be hard to fight with a sniveling girl behind him. Kaisa wasn't Sigyn. She couldn't fight worth a damn.

Loki snuck a glance at Takumi, who was sitting quietly on the cot and staring at the lanterns with a fixed expression on her face. It was hard to believe that the two girls had been considered siblings. Kaisa was pale and petite with slender arms- and she looked like she hadn't done anything physically enduring in her life. But Takumi looked very much different, with her tanned skin and hardened stomach. She had the look of a warrior, an angry warrior, but a fighter no less.

A sullen voice broke the darkness, startling him.

"So.. what did you do to your ankle?"

Loki glanced up at Takumi, who was looking at him with mild curiosity. He shrugged. "I was running from the monster and I fell."

"So you're a klutz?" she grinned at him.

_This girl is impossible. _He thought exasperatingly. "I am not. I tripped, as I said."

"I think your a klutz." she confirmed, getting up from her bed and walking over to him. "Let me see your leg, Laufeyson."

With a confused look on his face, he complied. Takumi gently picked at his boot, untying the laces and tugging the thing off his foot. Loki started to protest, but a flash of pain in his ankle reminded him to be quiet. Using a knife that was in her own boot, she cut off part of his slacks and exposed his swollen ankle.

"Oh lordy, that's bad." she muttered.

Loki winced at the sight. He didn't think it was that bad.

Takumi sighed and reached for her robe, cutting the fabric into strips. She wrapped the burlap strips around his ankle, tightly wrapping the adhesive and binding it like a cast. Then she pulled down the remains of his trousers and patted his leg. "There."

Loki moved his leg carefully, preparing himself for flashes of pain. To his surprise, there was none. It was as if she had healed him. The only indication that he had injured himself was the brown cloth wrapped around him.

"Thank you." he said, actually meaning it. He gingerly touched the cloth. "But your robe.."

She waved a hand in his direction. "You should really get some rest before the morning comes. It's gonna be hard to find Thor and Kaisa, especially if they're hiding."

"Okay." he tried to sit himself in a more comfortable position, the floor hot underneath his body. He was about to rest his head on the floor when he heard Takumi again.

"What are you doing?" she asked incredulously, a confused expression on her face.

"About to rest." Loki said warily, unsure what else to say.

Takumi sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Then she grabbed his hand and pulled him upwards, his body resting heavily against hers. "You should really sleep on the cot. It's way more comfortable than the floor."

"I cannot just take your space." Loki protested. Takumi just shrugged underneath him and pushed him against the cot, his body thumping heavily on it. Then with a grunt, she took his hurt leg and gingerly set it on the cot as well.

"There ya go." she gave him a grin, but it looked more like a compassionate smile than one of malice.

Loki felt his body relaxing immediately, but he still felt a twinge of guilt. "Where are you going to rest?"

"I don't need to rest tonight. I've gotten plenty. I'll keep watch." Takumi put her knife back into her boot. "We'll find Thor and Kaisa in the morning."

Loki nodded, his eyelids getting heavier. With her gentle voice echoing in his mind, he finally fell into a light sleep.


	12. Reunited

_"I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose." Loki scanned the small Midgardian room gleefully, watching as all the humans stared at him with their mouths gaping open. They looked shocked at his presence, as they should be. He was Prince of Asgard and a Jotun Frost Monster. He was to be feared. _

_And he had succeeded. _

_"Loki...? Brother of Thor?" a pudgy man asked bravely, his voice quavering with shock. Loki felt a twinge of irritation at the question. _

_A man in a dark coat and an eye patch stared him down, in an effort to intimidate him. He reminded him of Odin. __"We have no quarrel with your people."_

_"An ant has no quarrel with a boot." Loki said smoothly. All the humans in the room jolted at the same time, and he smiled inwardly. Oh.. how he MISSED this feeling. The feeling of power over the weak. Even if the power was over things as worthless as Earthlings, but it was something. _

_"You planning to step on us?" the dark man asked incredulously, his brow wrinkling. _

_Loki brandished his staff slowly, so they could admire it's power. "I come with glad tidings, of a world made free." _

_"Free..?" the man seemed to be lost. "Free from what?" _

_"Freedom is life's great lie." Loki stepped down from his pedestal and strided slowly towards the trembling Midgardians, a smile stretched on his face. "Once you accept that in your heart..." he suddenly turned and stuck the staff straight onto the fat man's chest, watching as his eyes turned from black to Tesseract blue. Loki smiled at the transformation. "You will know peace."_

_"Peace doesn't exist in you." a different voice said._

_ Loki knew at once it wasn't the dark man's voice, or any other Midgardian voice for that matter. It was a voice that he dreaded. It was a voice that had followed him since he was a young child- someone that he didn't realize he was connected to until he was much older. The smile dropped from his face instantly. _

_"Laufey." Loki growled. "Must you haunt me in my dreams too?"_

_"Turn around, my son." Laufey growled. "So that I can see your face." _

_Loki slowly turned. His eyes flickered up to his father; the huge blue man was staring at him with such contempt that it made him uncomfortable. He shuddered as the Shield Headquarters crumbled around him and the realm of Jotunheim took its place, the frost gathering at his feet and snowflakes falling from the sky. Even though he wasn't cold, he wrapped his arms around him. _

_"What do you want from me?" he asked, body involuntarily shuddering in fear._

_Laufey stared at him. "I see everything you do, my boy. Odin has allowed you the special gift to wed. A princess, no less." _

_Loki nearly rolled his eyes. Of course this is what would be discussed. Nothing else mattered more than the wedding. He scoffed and kicked at the ground with his foot. _

_"I suppose." he said quietly._

_"Your to-be is a beautiful Fire princess." the old Frost Giant remarked, sinking deeper onto his ice throne. "She has a similar tie to you. Your pasts are remarkably intertwined." _

_"The wedding will only go on because the All-Father has said so." Loki grumbled. He looked up at Laufey with a scowl on his face. "I do not want anything else to do with her, or her sister. They can go back to Vanaheim for all I care." _

_Laufey laughed. _

_It wasn't a kind laugh like Thor would use on him. It was almost sinister, evil, and it's cold jolted Loki in his spot. He stared, his body paralyzed with sudden fear as he watched Laufey's laugh grind down to a dark chuckle. Laufey's eyes penetrated into his skull. _

_"You wish you do not care. I see through your mask, Loki. You may hide from everyone else, but you cannot hide from me." _

_"I am not hiding anything! Leave me alone." Loki reached for his staff behind him, desperately wanting to wake up now. He needed to escape. _

_Laufey shifted in his seat. "Why do you pretend you do not feel compassion for her?" _

_"Monsters do not feel compassion." Loki half-muttered, his hand grasping at air. Finally his fingers wrapped around his staff, and he bought it out with a flourish and pointed it at Laufey. The Frost Giant stared at him, unflinching and clearly bored with the banter. He waved his hand at Loki's pose. _

_"Wake up Loki." he said. "Wake up." _

"Wake up. Wake up. Goddammit. Wake the hell up!"

Loki's eyes jolted open, and his arms flailed upwards as though he was in a nightmare. Hot air suddenly tore into his frigid lungs, and it made him gasp. He felt something close to terror well up in him once more as he remembered what had happened.

The lava monster was coming after him. Thor and Kaisa had ran, but it chased him down until he was broken. The hot air, the suffocating hot air was pressing down on him like walls..

"God, it's like your in a coma. Geez."

Loki slowly turned his head. Takumi was staring at him with a scowl on her face. She was wearing another cloak and her hair was tied back. She looked irritated.

"I.. What?" he spluttered.

Takumi rolled her eyes. "You were asleep and I had to wake you up. You don't wake up easy, Prince Laufeyson."

She said _Prince_ with the slightest bit of sarcasm. Loki groaned and tried to sit up, his muscles aching. His ankle screamed out in pain as he swung his leg over the side of the bed.

Takumi just sighed. "It's dawn now. The monster should have resided back into the mud pits to rest while the sun is up, and while it's doing that, we need to keep moving."

"Do you believe Thor and Kaisa will remain in one spot?" Loki slowly bought himself upwards and nearly fell forwards, if it weren't for Takumi suddenly diving underneath him and supporting his weight. "Thank you."

"Hopefully they will, but you'll never know til you see. And don't mention it." Takumi set him upright again and walked into the back of the cave. She came back with a slender stick in her hand, just large enough to lean on. "Here's a crutch. This should be enough to keep you moving."

Loki took it and stuck it under his arm. It felt nice to put the pressure off his ankle. He wanted to say his thanks again, but she suddenly cut him off by opening the boulder and letting sunlight and hot air pour inside the cave. He choked as the first wave of hot air hit him.

"You'll get used to it." Takumi waved dismissively "Lets go."

* * *

Kaisa blearily opened her eyes. She saw a hazy blue sky above her, clearer than she had ever seen before. Big puffy clouds hung in the sky. It all looked so lovely, so normal, if not for the lack of animal sounds and the stifling heat.

Gods it was already hot. She sat up from her spot on the ground and brushed back her hair, already matted with sweat. She seemed to be okay and unharmed. There were a couple of sore spots on her, but she'd live.

She heard a noise a couple feet beside her, and she realized that it was Thor. He was also sitting up and looking around him blearily, his face sweaty. The moment he saw her, however, he got to his feet and stumbled towards her.

"Lady Kaisa! Oh how I am relieved you are here." he cupped her face and inspected her. "You are not hurt?"

"No no, I'm fine Thor." she assured him. Her eyes wandered from his face down to his sides, where a large red stain remained on his armor. "You're bleeding."

Thor jerked back and looked down at his side. "The wound is not bad. The bleeding has stopped for the most part."

"This is all my fault." Kaisa whimpered, looking around her. It all looked the same, dirt, sand, and the occasional tree stump charred with ash. "I should never have bought us to this place. You're hurt, and Loki's gone.."

"Tis not your fault." Thor said gently. "I am sure Loki is fine. He has always been good at taking care of himself."

Kaisa gingerly leaned her head on his chest. "And Takumi.. we didn't find her."

"I am sure that wherever she is, she is okay too." Thor patted the back of her head gently. "She doesn't seem like the type to be so easily tossed aside."

"That's what I am worried about." she sighed. "In the meantime, however, let us find your brother and get out of this hell."

"Agreed." Thor climbed out of the small valley they were in and extended a hand towards her. With a grimace, she reached for him and he pulled her upwards. She clawed at the sand for a moment as she regained her footing. When the both of them were on higher ground, they started to move towards a random direction, neither of them sure where to start.

The air was hot and sticky, Kaisa noticed. Her damp dress was sticking against her legs in an uncomfortable sort of way. There wasn't a cloud in the sky- it was all blue that stretched for miles. As they walked, black dust swirled up from underneath their feet and settled around them like smoke.

For some reason, she felt worried about Loki. As much as she disliked him, she didn't want to see his dead body sprawled across the ground like trash. He was Thor's brother, after all. And he was Takumi's husband to be.. if they ever managed to find her, that is.

Thor suddenly stopped and Kaisa crashed into his solid body, sending her stumbling backwards a couple feet. She looked up at him, her sight dizzy.

"Lady Kaisa, I see movement on the horizon!" he said excitedly.

"Who is it?" she got to her feet and squinted- there was indeed movement. Two dusty figures were barely visible, huge clouds of dust billowing up around them. One of them was small, and the other was walking with a slight limp. Kaisa couldn't see their faces, but they certainly didn't look threatening.

Thor waved his hands above his head and shouted. "Strangers! Please! We need assistance!"

The two figures stopped for a moment before the shorter one pointed at them. Then they started to move in their direction.

Kaisa and Thor stayed in their place, watching in awe as the two people moved closer. Through all the dust and ash, Kaisa recognized a familiar voice.

"Thor! For once in my life, I am relieved to see you!"

"Loki?" Thor rushed forwards and grabbed the taller figure in his arms. As the dust cleared, Kaisa could clearly see Loki standing there, a crutch underneath one of his arms. He looked gaunt, pale, and tired, but still the same mischevious god. The other figure, who's face was hidden by a hood, stood silently behind him as the reunion went on.

"Good to see you in one piece, Loki." Kaisa said dryly.

Loki stared at her with piercing green eyes. "So you do care, Lady Kaisa. How heartwarming."

"Who is your friend, Loki?" Thor peered over his brother's shoulder curiously. "The Fire Realm is not as barren as we believed, perhaps?"

The hooded person didn't say a word and stepped back hesitantly, looking like they were ready to flee. Loki bit his lip and turned to them, his hand outreached.

"Please.. let us repay you for bringing him back safely." Kaisa gave them a gentle smile. "You may get out of here and to Asgard."

"No." the voice was flat.

Thor raised an eyebrow. "Who are you, stranger?"

There was a sigh. "I suppose I can't run from you anymore, right?"

Kaisa sucked in a breath. That voice.. it sounded like.. She slowly reached out her hand and grabbed onto the hood of the figure. They didn't move, they merely flinched under her touch. She pulled down the cloth and revealed a familiar mess of black hair. A sullen, dirty face stared back at her. She choked back a sob and ran her hand on her sister's head, tears running down her face.

"Takumi.. oh my god.." Kaisa's voice cracked.

"You got me." Takumi said in a mocking tone. She winced a little as Thor grabbed her arm a little rougher than normal, an angry expression cast across his face.

"Takumi Vanir, you are coming back to Asgard with us, and you will not run this time. Understood?" the blonde god growled, appearing menacing.

"Yes, sir." she said sarcastically. "I surrender."


	13. Captured

Takumi felt the restraints tighten on her wrists and stumbled forward. She stifled a groan of frustration and kept moving, while Thor pushed roughly on her.

The God of Thunder had insisted on putting restraints on her so that she couldn't escape a second time. She wasn't surprised when no one protested, and she was helpless to do a thing as her arms were thrust behind her and rough rope tied her wrist together. Thor pushed her along, one hand on her arm. She was being escorted like a prisoner. Hell, she was a prisoner. The first thing that would happen once they stepped foot into Asgard would probably consist of her being led away by large soldiers and being thrown into a prison. She did break a law after all.

No one was speaking. Kaisa kept her eyes ahead of her, strangely calm. Loki and Thor exchanged glances every once in a while, but nothing was said. She couldn't help but smirk to herself as the border of Asgard came into view. She was good. She managed to get away from the best realm in the universe, she slipped past the All-Father's stupid little nose, and she skirted past the big scary army. Of course she gave herself up to help Loki, but..

Wait. She just gave herself up to help Loki.

_To help Loki._

Takumi almost stopped in her tracks if it wasn't for Thor pulling gently on her arm. What the hell was she doing?

She heard Thor say something about them about to cross the border to Asgard, but it faded in and out of her mind as though she had a rag over her ears. She moved as though she was in a trance, the same realization ringing through her head.

_To help Loki. _

_I gave myself up to help Loki. _

A sudden burst of cold air woke her up, and she gasped involuntarily as her skin prickled. She knew where she was now. They were now in Asgard.

She glanced up at the city. It looked the same as she left it- majestic and beautiful with gleaming towers. Even though the sky was darkened with heavy rain clouds and there was a slight chill in the air, it didn't change how proud the city stood. Cold splatters of rain splashed against her face, and she blinked in surprise. As much as she hated to admit it, the water felt welcoming. She glanced over at Kaisa, who had turned her head up towards the sky and welcoming the rain. Black ash dripped off of them and onto the rainbow bridge.

They all came to a stop at a large structure sitting on the bridge. There was the same golden-eyed man that Takumi first met when she arrived to Asgard. His eyes flickered up to them.

"So you have returned safely." he said deeply. "And I see you have caught the fugitive."

"I'm not a fugitive, Goldilocks." Takumi snapped before she could stop herself. Thor rubbed his face tiredly with his hands while Kaisa muttered an indignant "Takumi!". Loki just smirked and looked off in the other direction, not saying a word.

"Odin will be most pleased with your capture." Heimdall said, ignoring Takumi's comment. "Go forth, Princes. And Princess Kaisa, good to see you again."

* * *

"Takumi Vanir."

Odin's thunderous voice echoed around the throne room. Takumi looked up from her spot on the floor, her hands still tied behind her back with rope. Her knees were knelt on the shiny marble floor, the smooth tile rubbing on her bare skin. She was a dirty criminal, and she was being treated like one. She almost wished that the others were in the room with her- but no, they were waiting in their chambers while she got the All-Father's fury.

"You have violated Asgardian rules. You have broken the seal of marriage. You have managed to skip past my guards and hide in the city undetected. Furthermore, you hopped from realm to realm in an attempt to escape. Did you realize that you crossed the line into a dormant realm?" Odin crossed his arms and paced across the small stage, glaring at her with each step. "You have woken up the Fire Realm- one of the most dangerous areas of the universe. My sons could have been killed because of your idiocy."

"Your _sons _get themselves in pretty sticky situations, anyway." Takumi sneered. "How is that my fault?"

"Silence!" Odin's voice rang out sharply, and Takumi flinched under the harshness. "You foolish girl. If you were to only follow your father's orders, you would not be in this dilemma! You would not have to be treated like a criminal!"

"Ohh. Are we playing that game, Odin?" Takumi flashed him a wide smile, a mischevious glint in her eye. "If I was to play pretty princess like my sister, that my daddy wouldn't be so harsh? That's a good thought."

"You would be wise to keep your mouth shut!" Odin snapped, his face turning beet red. "You are going to get married whether you like it or not, understand? And you will learn a thing or two about responsibility." He snapped his fingers and two guards stepped forward.

"You can't do this! This is against my will!" Takumi half-screamed. One of the guards grabbed her wrist and yanked backwards, trying to restrain her.

Odin stopped and crossed his arms. "I can, and I will. I promised your father that you would be wed to a Prince. And you have broken many rules, rules that I cannot dismiss."

"I don't care what you promised!" she struggled angrily against the guards' grip. "You cannot do this!"

"I am sorry, Princess Takumi." Odin looked sorrowful for a moment. "But this needs to be done. Take her away to the prisons until further notice. She must think about what she has done."

Before Takumi could do anything, a heavy hand wrapped around her mouth, suffocating her. They were dragging her back, and she couldn't do a thing but kick her legs and try to scream. But her yells were muffled, and the air around her was rapidly disappearing. Her hand absentmindedly clawed at the hand around her mouth, but her fingernails met metal and she heard nothing but her whimpering. Her eyes latched onto Odin's. He was staring at her with disdain, no mercy on his face whatsoever.

_Help! Someone help! _Her mind screamed, and panic rose in her throat as she was dragged out of the room. Then she was thrown onto the floor, and the last thing that she saw was the guard's fist swinging towards her face.

And then it was dark.


	14. Reduced to Nothing

Kaisa sat on the bed and fiddled with her hands, anxiously biting her lip and looking up at the door. She expected one of the guards to come crashing through with Takumi in their arms, throwing her onto the ground, and exit with a dramatic flair that Asgardians seemed to have. It didn't even matter how bruised up she was anymore. Kaisa just wanted her back where she could see her, where she knew that she was safe.

But minute after minute passed by, and no one came by. The door never opened, and no guard ever came through. Takumi never came through. It was as silent as ever.

It didn't make sense. All Odin said was that he wanted to talk to her. But that was so long ago. Kaisa glanced out the window. The sun was now setting over the horizon, and the lights were slowly turning themselves on. It was nearly nighttime.

"Where the hell is she?" Kaisa said at last, frustrated. "It has been hours."

"Odin must be thoroughly discussing matters with her." Thor said, his voice as calm as ever. But he was fiddling with the handle of his hammer and glancing down at the floor guiltily. Kaisa raised an eyebrow.

"Then I can go see her, correct? She is my sister, after all."

"He would not appreciate being interrupted." he said warily.

Kaisa remained silent for a bit longer. Something wasn't right. She could feel it in her chest- her hands were clammy and she felt the urge to vomit all over the place, even though she hadn't eaten. It was the same feeling that she got whenever she knew Takumi was in terrible pain. She had gotten that feeling many times before in Vanaheim, when Takumi would sneak out and cause trouble in the villages. Hell, she had gotten it the moment Takumi had found those rotten documents about her real birth parents.

And here it was now. It churned in her stomach like a serpent.

Loki broke the silence with an indignant snort. Kaisa looked up to see the man leaning gingerly against the wall, leaning against his crutch and glaring at Thor. His face was taunt with worry, worry for Takumi? She swallowed her surprise.

"Loki? What is the matter?" she asked quietly.

He scoffed. "You are an absolute fool, Thor."

"Excuse me?" the blonde god's face turned a shade of red.

"Do you really think that Odin just wants to chat?" Loki shook his head incredulously. "No, brother, the All-Father does not wish to merely speak with her. He wants her to pay for the crimes that she has done."

"Pay?" Kaisa croaked. She glared at Thor. "What does he mean?"

"Kaisa, I-" Thor stuttered. "He-"

Loki chuckled darkly. "She will suffer the same fate I did, brother, and you know it. Why not just tell her the truth? Why do you not go to Odin himself and help her? You are the Prince."

"The SAME FATE!?" Kaisa snapped, her eyes growing wide. Then her voice hushed quietly, and her words came out in a fierce whisper. "If your father dares lay a hand on my sister, then so help me..."

A look of exhaustion and weariness passed over Thor's face. He grabbed Kaisa's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Lady Kaisa... I am sorry."

"Sorry?" she croaked. Tears sprung up in her eyes. "What is happening?"

"Loki is correct." Thor said softly, his face crumbling a little. "She has committed crimes against Asgard that cannot be ignored."

_Crimes that cannot be ignored. _Kaisa blinked as the words sunk in.

"Mercy will not be shown." Loki muttered. "More than likely she will be sent to the prisons and be regarded as a criminal. There she will wait out her sentence for the severity of her crimes, and then she may be sent free."

"She isn't a criminal." Kaisa scowled softly. "She is not like you. She didn't kill innocent people in a fit of rage."

Loki's face turned into an angry scowl. Thor grasped her shoulders and shook her a little. "Kaisa! Takumi has run away from the royal court, skipped past the guards, and border jumped realms without permission. Those are the laws that have existed long before Odin came along. You cannot expect her to get off without punishment."

"I am fairly sure that being banished to the prisons is a bit much." Loki scoffed. He shuffled over to the window and rested his palms on them, staring out the window and watching the raindrops slide down the glass. "A harsh scolding? Perhaps. But the prisons are brutal. They will not show mercy on her."

"They will hurt her." Kaisa whimpered. She wrenched herself from Thor. "And if you will not help her, then I will!" She shoved Thor aside and ran to the door, pulling it open and running down the corridor. Her footsteps faded from the hall.

Thor stood there, staring at the door.

"Good going." Loki said sarcastically.

"Loki..." Thor said exasperatingly. "Why did you say that to her? She is fragile right now."

He chuckled dryly. "I thought I was the one who was known for lying. Did you really think that you could keep the truth from her?"

"Loki.." Thor said again, his voice tense.

"Imagine Kaisa's surprise when she sees Takumi chained to a stony wall, bruised and bleeding, whilst her _'husband' _has full knowledge of what has happened." Loki sneered, gesturing with his crutch. "And I am sure Takumi will warm up to Asgard after what they put her through, right brother?"

With that being said, Loki shuffled past Thor and slammed the door behind him, leaving the blonde god standing alone in the chambers.

* * *

"Miserable girl!"

Takumi grunted in pain as her head met the concrete floor, lights flashing in her vision. She rolled onto her back in pain and let out a loud groan. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw a hazy man standing above her. There was a large grin on his scruffy face, a twisted sadistic grin that sent chills down her spine. Trembling, she sat up and tried to distance herself from the strange man, but her back hit a cold wall.

"Get away from m-me." Takumi stuttered, her words cutting through from the pain. She held her hand out shakily, to shield herself.

"I am sorry, Princess." the voice sneered, entirely arrogant and satisfied. "But you are in my world now. There is no escape."

"God.." Takumi shut her eyes as a wave of nausea swept over her. How hard did she hit her head? When she opened her eyes again, the man was still staring intently at her with a strange look in his eyes.

"The All-Father has declared your sentence." the man spoke, passing a whip through his hands. "Two moons within the prison. Two moons to be a prisoner. How does that make you feel, _Princess Takumi__?_"

He said her title sarcastically, as though the very word disgusted him. Takumi closed her eyes and rocked backwards, her stomach lurching and her head swirling with pain. Then she leaned over to the side and vomited.

She dry-heaved for a few moments, her nose running and drool spilling from her mouth as she stayed on her hands and knees, her stomach lurching with every second. Tears slid down her face as she gasped for breath, her hands grasping at the concrete tile. Her head was throbbing with pain, and to her horror, there was something sliding down the side of her face. She reached up for it with trembling hands. It was blood.

Warm, fresh blood.

"Fuck." she choked out, staring at her hands and then at the guard. "What the fuck..?"

"Watch your mouth, Prisoner." the man said harshly.

"What did YOU DO TO ME?!" Takumi screamed. She threw herself at the guard, but was stopped by the iron bars. It was the only thing separating her from the nasty man and her rage. Her bloody hand reached through one of the bars. "You bastard! All of you in Asgard!"

The man chuckled. "Two moons here will do a spoilt brat like you some good. Odin has been wise."

"Two moons?" Takumi slowly pulled her hands back through the bars, feeling her heart drop into her stomach. She messed up this time. She messed up really bad this time. How was she supposed to get out of this one?

With a sinking feeling, she realized that _she couldn't. _She was stuck in the rotting, filthy prisons until her sentence was dismissed. She was stuck with this creep for a while, stuck in a tiny cell with nothing to do but watch the flies buzz over her vomit. She felt sick again.

"You've really stepped in it this time, fool." the man sneered. He advanced towards her and slowly opened the cell door, the metal creaking open with a loud screech. Takumi gulped back her fear and scooted back against the wall again, her heart pounding.

"G-get away from me." she stammered. She tried to summon her fire powers, but nothing came up. Panic started to well.

The man reached for her arm. On instinct, Takumi's hand lashed out and slapped him across the face, spending him flying to the other side of the cell. He stumbled to his feet, his hand to his face in shock and his tiny pig eyes squinted in anger.

"You nasty little bitch!" he roared. He rushed towards her, and grabbed her arms roughly, his fingernails gripping into her skin. He throttled her hard, slamming her body against the wall. Takumi squirmed in his grip, helpless, and let out a cry of pain as his fist slammed into her face. A hard fist slammed into her stomach, and she felt herself fall to her knees. The man grinned and then kicked her in the jaw. Takumi lay on the ground, writhing in pain.

"Last time you ever touch me." he growled in her ear. She trembled under his rough touch and disgusting breath. His fingers pawed at her hair, grabbing them upwards in a painful motion. "You will pay for your insolence."

"Just fucking kill me." Takumi gasped, tasting bitter blood flow into her mouth. "Kill me. Do everyone in Asgard a damn favor already."

The man pushed her back onto the ground and scoffed. "Prince Loki would not be pleased if I killed his bride."

"Loki... wouldn't.. care." Takumi felt tears spring in her eyes again, and she grit her teeth in anger. She shouldn't be crying. She was supposed to be better than that, dammit.

"Do not worry Princess. I will make your time more than worth it." the man chuckled again, and this time, Takumi felt his eyes on her body. As he closed the iron door and locked it behind him, she curled herself into a small ball and started to cry.

* * *

_Please review :D_


	15. Lessons from a Dead Man

Takumi awoke suddenly in a small brown cell, her damp dress sticking to her body. Her legs were curled up underneath her for warmth. She was just a small ball in the corner of the cell.

She looked around her blearily. It was a tiny space; she could simply reach out with her arm and her fingertips would barely skim the other wall. The walls were filthy and slimy, coated with strange fluids and molds. There was a horrible smell, and with a jolt she realized that it was the pile of puke that she had vomited earlier. There were also small droplets of blood on her torn dress. Her blood, no doubt.

The guard had beaten her to unconsciousness. He must have come in again while she was still passed out and put the chains on her wrists and ankles, to ensure that she couldn't escape. Takumi chuckled darkly, even though there was nothing funny about the situation. _Well at least he's smart. _She thought sourly. If there was even an inkling of escape before, there surely wasn't now. He was careful, she'd give him that.

Two moons. She had to spend two moons in this hell for jumping from Asgard to the Fire Realm and for outwitting those stupid soldiers at the front of the palace. She was being punished for being smart. How was that fair?

Takumi sat up and leaned against the cold wall, trying to ignore her rumbling stomach and aching head. Why was it that she was being punished for hiding from the army? She hadn't done anything wrong, the last time she looked. Sure, she might have broken a deal that her _dear Daddy _had made, but he wasn't her father, and he wasn't in charge of her. They couldn't make her marry Loki.

Actually, yes they could. And they were going to, as soon as she was released.

She let out a small choked-off sob. Maybe Kaisa was right. Maybe she should've just bent down to the rules instead of trying to defy them. Trying to fight for the right to do what she wanted wasn't really working out. It landed her here, in jail. She had barely spend a night in the prisons and she had already been beaten up and taunted. Maybe she was a bad person and a bad daughter, but surely she didn't deserve this.

A scream suddenly echoed down the hall. Takumi flinched at the blood-curling shriek, her body rigid against the wall.

"STOP! STOP! PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU! OH GOD-!"

The screams stopped.

There was the sound of a cell door slowly creaking open, and then the sliding of something heavy on the stone floor. Heavy footsteps were getting closer to Takumi's cell. She watched the shadows like a hawk, paralyzed with fear. The same guard from earlier emerged from the darkness with that sick smile on his face, holding a foot in his hand and dragging a body behind him like a piece of meat. He leaned against the iron-bars, staring at her intently.

"I see you have awoken, prisoner. Have a good nap?" he sneered.

Takumi stared at the dead body and then back at the guard. He saw her horrified expression and smiled even wider, showing off his yellowed teeth. "You curious about Prisoner Twenty-Seven, eh? He was a true fighter, roughened off the village streets."

"He was alive a minute ago." Takumi whispered. "I heard him screaming. Begging.."

"That was the best part." he hissed, laughing as her eyes grew wider with fear. "I do enjoy the screams of murderers and criminals first things in the morn."

Takumi blinked and brushed her hair out of her face with her wrists, the chains clinking together. She couldn't see the man's face, not that she really wanted to, but she couldn't help but stare at the corpse and know that he was alive just a few moments ago. He had been a breathing, walking entity, and he was just murdered.

The man laughed again, this time in amusement. "You curious about him, lassie?"

"No." she said bluntly.

"You want a friend to join you in this lonely prison?" he asked, his voice growing softer. His fingers curled around the bars of the cell. "I am sure you are lonely, with no one to stroke your pretty hair and tell you how special you are. A Princess should be treated as such, correct?"

Takumi glowered at him. "Leave me alone."

"I cannot leave such a fragile Princess alone in the scary prison. What kind of a man would I be if I were to leave a woman here to cry? Especially such a beautiful one at that." The guards hand reached out and touched her hair. Takumi flinched and tried to back away from him, but she was in the corner and unable to move. She shuddered as his fingers raked painfully through her tangled hair. "And your Prince Loki cannot come and help you here. We both know that he does not have enough heart to care for a lovely lady such as yourself. He cannot love, Princess. He is a monster, incapable of feeling. But I, Takumi Vanir, am more than capable of taking care of you."

"Go away!" she pushed away at the hand pawing at her and kicked at the arm, watching the pain spread across the man's face. She felt satisfied for a moment, until she saw the familiar flash of anger in those squinty eyes.

"I give you sympathy, and this is how you return it?" he growled, rattling the bars violently. "I tell you truth and you DEFY it?"

"Leave me alone to rot!" Takumi scowled, an inkling of defiance still shining through. "I don't want your company."

A scowl of irritation passed over his face. He stared at Takumi for the longest time, his piggish eyes shining. He looked like he was fighting with himself on what to do. He punched the prison bars, rattling them. "You ungrateful rat."

She curled her legs against her body for comfort, her hands shaking with fear. _Leave me alone. Please.. Just leave me alone. _

"I will give you company, even though you do not deserve it." the guard chuckled dryly. "Perhaps a chat with a dead man would do you good."

Before Takumi could do anything, the gate creaked open suddenly, and she could to the outside of the prison cell. She desperately wanted to run out of the cell, transform into a flame and disappear from this hell forever, no matter where she went, it'd be better than here. But the chains were firmly holding her in place, and as much as she struggled against them, she knew her efforts were futile. She stared up at the guard in confusion, and then something hit in her in the face.

Something heavy and cold. It was hard, and it knocked her against the wall and down onto the old pile of vomit.

Takumi felt a cold liquid start to drip on her arm, and there was hair on her face.

It wasn't her hair.

She let out a blood-curling scream. The body of the corpse was lying on top of her, crushing her deeper onto the grimy floor. There was the slam of the prison doors, locking her in the tiny space with a dead man.

"Ye have company now, lassie! Prisoner Twenty-Seven and you should bond quite well, provided that he talks, that is." the cruel laughter grew louder at the sounds of Takumi's screams.


	16. The Deal

Kaisa stood in the pouring rain, staring at the prison guard with a stubborn look on her face and her arms crossed in determination. She wasn't carrying an umbrella, and she was still dressed in the same clothes from the Fire Realm. Even though she was soaked, she still didn't move and kept her unwavering gaze on the guard. He didn't make eye contact with her, but his mustache would twitch ever so slightly with discomfort, and Kaisa knew that her presence was getting to him. After a moment of tense silence, the guard angrily stomped down his weapon and glared at her.

"Princess Kaisa, I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I cannot let you in the prison! The All-Father has given me strict instructions not to do so!" he looked as though he was about to wail. "Please forgive me, Princess. I wish the circumstances were different!"

"I don't care what Odin has said. I want to see my sister." Kaisa snapped.

"Takumi Vanir is bound under Asgardian law. There is nothing I can do." he whimpered, looking cowardly underneath his armor.

Kaisa crossed her arms tighter. "Then I will stand here until you let me, no matter the costs!"

The guard sighed and gestured with his weapon. "Princess, please, you will get sick if you stand in this rain."

"I want to see Takumi." she said firmly.

The guard's mouth dropped open in an attempt to persuade her, but nothing came to mind. Instead, there was the distant sound of a horse galloping towards the prison. Kaisa turned around to see a huge horse coming up from behind her, one with two hooves on each of its legs. Loki was mounted on the top, his hair slicked down with rainwater and his broken ankle wrapped tightly in gauze. He stared at Kaisa with piercing eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he asked icily.

"I am here to see Takumi, thank you." Kaisa growled. "The better question is: what are YOU doing here?"

Loki climbed down from the horse and patted it fondly on the neck before limping towards Kaisa. "I am here to retrieve you. Thor' has asked for you."

Kaisa scoffed. "I am not going with you."

"Too bad." Loki shrugged and reached towards her, simply scooping her up and throwing her onto his shoulders. He glanced at the guard, who's mouth had dropped open in shock. "I am terribly sorry if she pestered you. Continue with your service."

The guard babbled an incoherent 'thank you'.

"Loki Laufeyson, you let me go this instant!" Kaisa screamed, pounding on his back with her fists. "I will file a complaint against harassment!"

"Do shut up." Loki retorted, climbing back onto the horse.

With a neigh, the horse kicked up its legs and turned around, galloping out of the prison headquarters. As the prison gates closed behind them, he let out the exhale he was holding in and tightened his hold on Kaisa, who still hadn't let up her obnoxious screaming and punching. To tell the truth, it was stinging quite a bit.

The rain pelted down on the both of them. Rainwater slid down his face and blurred his vision. After a few moments of sprinting away from the prisons, Loki called for Slepinir to stop. The horse slowed down to a stop and trotted along the forests edge, finally stopping to graze at the lush grasses at the side. He pulled his legs over and dropped down to the ground, and then set down the screaming princess.

Kaisa stood staring at him with her mouth agape, and then she slapped him in the face.

His hand instinctively came up to his burning cheek. He glanced at her, a bit shocked at her rash movement. "I can explain.."

"Then explain to me!" Kaisa yelled angrily. She waved her arms above her head. "Why didn't you help me?"

""It is the law." Loki said dryly. "I cannot skirt past the rules so easily."

"She is supposed to be your wife, you selfish creature." she poked him in the chest, hard. "And she saved you out there, do you not remember? You would be dead if not for her!"

Loki grabbed her wrist and scowled. "Will you quiet yourself? I am fully aware what happened in the Fire Realm!"

"She gave herself up for you." Kaisa snapped. "Now she's in prison, suffering alone."

"I know." he sighed and let go of her. He looked defeated for a moment, looking so uncharacteristically different than normal that all the anger Kaisa felt melted away. He turned away from her and wiped the rainwater off his face, limping towards his grazing horse. Kaisa bit her lip, feeling guilty.

"I am sorry for my outburst." she said quietly. "I was just angry."

"Anger is one of the most deadly sins, is it not?" Loki stared at Slepinir for a moment before turning his attention on her. "To lose what you cherish, to realize that your precious is just out of reach is frustrating."

Kaisa fiddled with her wet, torn dress. "I suppose. By the way, why did Thor ask for me?"

Loki chuckled, a mischevious glint in his eyes. "He didn't. I just needed a reason to get you away from the guard without raising trouble. It worked well."

"Now I see why they call you God of Mischief." she shook her head. "What do you want then?"

"I owe Takumi a certain favor." Loki said quietly. "She saved me from a moment of trouble, and it is my duty to save her from hers."

Kaisa raised an eyebrow. "That's it? You owe her a favor?"

"I may be devious, but I pay off my debts to those who have helped me." he said dryly. "And believe me Kaisa, she is in danger. The prisons are nothing to trifle with."

"So why are you telling me?" Kaisa scoffed. "Wouldn't it be easier to do it on your own time, where Odin could not catch you?"

Loki chuckled again and folded his arms behind his back. "I need someone to distract Thor whilst I slip into the prisons and get to Takumi. We shall deal with Odin's wrath later, assuming he still has the energy to argue against the both of us."

Kaisa thought about it for a moment. "Okay Laufeyson, I agree to this deal."

"Can't wait to begin." he gave her a toothy grin and called for Slepinir. "Perhaps Takumi won't be so hard to deal with this time."

"You wish." It was Kaisa's turn to chuckle. "Tis never a dull ride with Takumi."

Loki climbed atop of the horse's back and extended a hand towards her. "Come. We should get you back to the palace to dry off. Thor would appreciate it." he said the last part with a bit of amusement.

"Funny." Kaisa reached for his hand and settled behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She just heard Loki chuckle snidely, and then the horse lurched forwards and galloped back towards the Asgardian city.

As they shot out of the forest, they passed by the prison headquarters. In the pouring rain, it looked ghastly and mournful. It was just a grey building without it's windows, a place that was immaculate but miserable at the same time. Kaisa gulped back the rising sadness and stared at it. Takumi was in there, somewhere, suffering alone.

* * *

After they arrived back at the Asgardian palace, Loki let Slepinir go back into his stalls to sleep. Kaisa just gave him a tight-lipped smile and gave him a gentle pat on the arm. She pushed her wet hair out of her face and said a soft _thank you _before turning and walking down the hall, holding onto her wet and muddy dress. She walked as though she hadn't been standing outside of a prison for hours.

He smirked to himself before turning and walking down the opposite hall. He passed by a servant, who stopped in their tracks and stared at him.

"Prince Loki, why are thou soaked through?" the servant asked timidly.

"I had some business to attend to." Loki said dryly, picking at his sleeve.

"With Princess Kaisa?" the servant raised an eyebrow. "If I am not mistaken, and forgive me if I am, but is she not Thor's wedded?"

Loki scowled. "She is. Now you excuse me, I must change out of these wet garments and do some reading."

"As you wish." the servant bowed once before heading down the hall.

Loki growled and walked away, fiddling with his sleeves as he walked down the corridor. Annoying, small servants always getting in his business. He surely hoped that none of them spread rumors. Thor could not find out about their plans.

He pushed himself into his chambers and chuckled to himself. Thor was always going on about doing the right thing, and doing what was best for everyone else and such. It was something that a future king should be doing, Loki thought lucidly. But whenever it came down to one person who needed the most help, Thor had to step away.

It always happened. It happened with him.

Loki sighed and stripped off his garments, throwing them into a wet pile on the bed. As sad as it was, he still harbored feelings of resentment against Thor and his stupid Midgardian friends, the "Avengers". Oh, how they had they humiliated him after his defeat. The mortals were much stronger than he once thought, and unfortunately for him, they used all the power they had to defeat him, and then Thor put a magic mask on his face so that he couldn't speak.

And then came the humiliating trial after they arrived in Asgard. Everyone jeered at him. It was just embarrassment and pain, one incident after another. Odin just stared at him with the most sad and pitiful look on his face. Then he announced that Loki would be banished to the prisons for a full century.

Loki felt his skin prickle with discomfort as he remembered the prisons. The screaming of the other prisoners as they were abused and murdered. He remembered one of the guards jeering at him, his ugly teeth and mammoth-sized hands reaching for him as he lay helplessly in his cell. His magic had been sucked from him, and he grew weaker each day with hunger and fatigue.

And he knew that Takumi was suffering the same fate. To make it worse, she was a woman. And a well-known Princess of Vanaheim. The guards would surely be eyeing her like candy.

He felt a pang of anger. They would not _dare _touch her. If they did..

Thunder crashed again, and Loki blinked out of his trance.

Was he just... defending her? That selfish, bothersome Princess? Did the very thought of her being abused really send a pang of anger through him as if she was someone he cared for? Loki shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

He owed her a debt. That was it.

He layed back on his bed and closed his eyes.

That was all it was. A debt. And nothing more.

* * *

_You guys like so far? Please drop a review! :3 _


	17. Shameful

_Loki found himself waking up, his flesh aching and burning, and his arms tied up above his head. His bare skin was beaded with sweat, and he realized that he had been stripped of his clothing. He was vulnerable, helpless to defend himself. As he struggled to free himself against the shackles that held him up, he could hear the cruel laughter of the guards that were undoubtedly watching him. They were taking pleasure out of his panic. Loki grit his teeth and let out a howl of rage, his body spasming against the slimy stone wall._

_"Let me go! I demand my release at once!" he screamed, balling his hands into fists. "I am a Prince! I am not to be treated this way!" _

_There was just more laughing, this time he felt something wet and slimy hitting him in the stomach, sliding down towards his groin. He looked down at it, and to his horror, he realized that it was feces. He was lower than dirt to these guards, so low that they would throw their shit at him. He felt another one splat against his chest, exploding onto his face and arms. The smell was terrible, and it made him gag and retch. If his stomach wasn't so empty, he'd puke all over the floor. _

_"Look at the worm squirm!" he heard one guard jeer. "Prince Loki, ye about to faint? Are we being to harsh for ye?" _

_"I have done my sentence!" Loki croaked, feeling bile climb up his throat. "Let me go!"_

_A large fat man lumbered out of the darkness, his pig face peering at him intently through the bars. The bastard was holding a whip in his hand and a sadistic smile stretched across his face. Loki recognized the guard at once, this was the man who tortured him throughout his entire sentence. He was back, and he seemed to have more ideas than ever, judging by the gleam in his eyes. The guard's eyes traveled from his face down to his crotch, where they rested. He licked his lips and grunted, wrapping his fingers around the bars. _

_"Prince Loki." he said huskily. "I see you have returned." _

_"Get away from me at once, you disgusting brute." Loki snarled, feeling his stomach tighten with disgust. "This has been a mistake. I have served out my sentence and I have no reason to be returned here. I want to get out." _

_There was a snicker. "No can do, Prince. You see, we have something that we know you'd be interested in." _

_Loki glared at him. "Nothing here interests me, you idiot." _

_"Do not insult me so, naughty Prince." the guard growled. "Or I will make you pay. You will beg for mercy when I am finished." _

_Loki pressed his lips together and leaned against the cold wall, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach. He simply watched as the guard took his gaze off of him and moved to the side, where the cell on the other side lit up. _

_He was horrified to see a girl sitting in the middle of the cell, her hands chained behind her back and her feet chained to the floor. Her head was drooped forwards, so that he couldn't see her face, but he could tell that she had been beaten. She was naked as well, her body covered in large blue bruises and red welts. Blood was smeared on her skin and pooling on the floor. Her long hair was stringy and matted with blood, whether it was hers or someone else's he couldn't tell. Loki let out a choked gasp as he watched the girl, her breathing raggedy and loud. Was she awake? _

_"Do ye recognize her, Prince?" the guard laughed. "Ye should." _

_Loki looked at her more closely. Suddenly, the girl's head rolled back and looked straight at him, her eyes staring into his. He let out a small yell as he realized it was Takumi, her face black and blue and her lip swollen. She looked at him tiredly, as if she wasn't surprised to see him. _

_"Help me." she mouthed, her voice inaudible. _

_"Takumi!" Loki strained against the shackles. "Takumi!" _

_The guard opened her cell, and he watched in helplessness as he kicked her in the head. Her body simply flew to the floor, no longer fighting. Takumi let out a small groan as she lay there. The guard turned back to Loki and grinned at him, as if to say, 'See what I can do'. Loki snarled at him, feeling hatred and rage explode through him. But he couldn't do a thing, all the could do was watch in horror as the guard picked her up by her neck and kissed her roughly. _

_"Leave her alone!" he screamed. _

_The guard laughed again. "Do you approve, Prince Loki? I believed you hate this dear girl. You wanted to be rid of her, and now you are." _

_"Let her go!" Loki thrashed. "Let her go!" _

"Let her go!"

"Loki!" there was a sharp feeling to his face, and his eyes flew open. Kaisa was sitting on top of him, her face contorted with worry. Her hand was held up in the air as though she was about to slap him. "Thank god! I thought you were having a heart attack!"

"What..?" Loki mumbled as Kaisa slipped off of him. She let out a sigh and brushed her hair out of her face, looking tired as ever.

"What happened?" she asked quietly. "Where you having a nightmare?"

Loki sat up in bed, feeling his clammy clothes stick against his skin. "I... " he trailed off, unable to say anything else. The nightmare was rather vivid in his mind, still lingering at the recesses of his memory. The laughter of the guard still rang in his ears.

Kaisa sighed, her shoulders shuddering. She was wearing sleepwear, a thin nightgown with long sleeves. She looked at him and spoke, the words spilling from her mouth in a hurry. "I was walking to my chambers when I heard you screaming. I opened the door and you were thrashing about on your bed."

"Thank you." Loki muttered, leaning against the headboard.

She shrugged. "You were loud."

He chuckled dryly, trying to get rid of the horrid laughter that was still ringing through him. The image of Takumi, naked and beaten and begging for his help was bothering him immensely. He told himself that it was simply nothing but a nightmare and that he shouldn't let it bother him, but it still did. It was simply ridiculous: he owed Takumi a debt for saving his life back in the Fire Realm. It was time for him to save her life as well, and then they would be even. She could escape as much as she wanted, and they wouldn't have to go through that idiotic marriage deal that Odin had proposed.

_Perhaps the marriage proposal would be better... _A small voice in his mind said.

Loki blinked in surprise, fiercely squashing that thought the instant he thought it. What in the nine realms was he thinking? He didn't want to marry that brat.

He didn't. What he wanted was to get as far away from her as possible.

"Did you dream about Takumi?" Kaisa suddenly asked, her voice soft.

Loki glared at her. "That is none of your concern." he snapped.

She looked at him with a calm expression on her face, her brown eyes staring into his intensely. "It's my concern if you have feelings for my sister, is it not?"

"I do not have feelings for that quim." Loki growled, his fists balling at his sides. "There is simply a debt to be paid, as I told you before. After that, what happens to her is none of my concern."

Kaisa laughed non-humorously. "They call you the God of Mischief and Lies, Loki, but I can see right through this lie. If you truly did not care about her, you would not be so adamant about getting her out of the prison."

"Do not blatantly tell me how I feel." Loki growled, holding onto her shoulders. "You have known me for one moon, you miserable Princess, not enough to time to even begin to understand who I am and how I work. You know nothing."

Kaisa laughed again, and this infuriated him. "You think I'm so ignorant."

"You are ignorant. You are nothing but an ignorant Princess who believes that she has the power to change the realms with a snap of her hands." he threw her backwards and got off the bed, anger twisting through his stomach like a serpent. He longed to throw her out the window of the tower and be done with her this stupid mess. But murdering a Princess would get him into a worse situation, he supposed.

A small hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, and with surprising force, she shoved him into the wall of his chambers. He let out a gasp of shock as Kaisa grabbed his chin and locked her eyes with his, a look of fury on her face. She had him pinned against the wall, and he found that he couldn't move his body.

"Listen to me, you idiot." Kaisa growled, her voice low. "You do not know me either. There is more to me than a spoilt Princess. I have certain.. powers that attribute to the Vanir blood, just like Takumi has powers that attribute to her family line. You are of Jotunheim blood, are you not? You have abilities like no other."

Loki stared at her, for once in his life unable to speak. He didn't have a comeback for Kaisa's fiery words.

"So do not disregard my sayings for ignorant ramblings. Do you know what Vanir abilities are, Laufeyson? One of them is to detect emotions. And believe me, I have not been wrong in all my life when it comes to that particular subject. Your true emotions, not the ones that you pretend to display for your ego." Kaisa let go of him and let him drop to the ground, the sudden strength suddenly gone. "Who is the true ignorant fool, Loki? The one who lies, or the one who wants to make a difference, to help those in need?"

"You know nothing about me." Loki glowered, having no other comeback. He watched as her face twisted into rage, her eyes clouding over in disbelief. It was almost satisfying.

"Fine." Kaisa spat, stepping towards the door. "Hide behind your fake emotions like a coward and let your real ones fade away. You will turn into the person you are pretending to be, cold and calculated."

"I do not pretend to be a monster." Loki scoffed. "Tis who I am. Tis who my father was."

"Who your father was does not mean you are." Kaisa looked disgusted. "You are simply using excuses to hide."

Loki got up and glared at her.

Kaisa shook her head and headed to the door. "Do not help my sister, Laufeyson. Do not do it just because you feel you have a debt to pay off. Do it because you know you understand her and that you have feelings for her. But you will not, because you are ashamed of feelings."

"Wait, Kaisa." Loki held out his hand towards her, but she ignored him. She slammed the door shut, rattling the walls.

Loki was left alone, feeling utterly ashamed for the thousandth time in his life.


	18. Saved by a Guard

_I think I'm going to change this story to rated 'M'. _

_If this bothers anyone, I'm really sorry. D: But if it helps, I'll put which chapters are... really M. _

* * *

Stupid Laufeyson.

She should've never trusted him. It had been foolish of her to believe that he actually cared for anyone but himself. The entire plan of finding Takumi and getting her out of trouble was just a cover-up, a facade for something that Kaisa didn't yet understand.

But whatever it was for, it was still nothing more than a lie.

Kaisa stomped into her chambers and slammed the door. Still in a furious rage, she picked up anything that she could find and hurled them at the door, yelling Vanir curses as the items harmlessly bounced off the marble walls. Nothing left a mark, which only infuriated her further. She wanted to ruin something. Actually, she wanted to _destroy_ something. She dug through her drawer and hurled her dresses, no longer caring if they were crumpled or wrinkled in the process.

He had lied to her. Of course she shouldn't be so surprised. Loki is the God of Mischief, the Silvertongue, the Deceiver... the list was endless. The first time she had seen him, he had that sullen, brooding look on his face. His large green eyes were filled with nothing but contempt, and she could feel the anger radiating from him. She could recall how Takumi had looked the first time they walked through the Asgardian throne room, how sullen she had looked as she walked behind her. Her sister's eyes had flickered up to the dark man with a small hint of curiosity, as if she connected with him. And Loki's eyes.. even though she didn't know him at the time, she saw something bright flash in all that emerald green.

She hadn't been wrong before. There WAS something there, something that Loki was trying so hard to hide from everyone else. Why else would the God try to help Takumi but hide the instant he actually had the chance to connect?

Kaisa let out a scream of fury as she took a vase and smashed it against the floor, smashing at it with her fists. This was too unfair. This was unfair to her, and most of all, to Takumi.

Her sister was a hothead, sure, but she was a good person. She didn't deserve to be locked in prison or have a future husband that refused to acknowledge her existence.

Finally out of steam, Kaisa sunk to the floor in exhaustion, her legs collapsing underneath her. Her knuckles were bleeding from punching the smashed porcelain vase, and her heart was pounding. After sitting silently and looking at the messed up room around her, she felt her chest heave and her shoulders shudder.

Then she started to cry. She was crying like a stupid little kid, helplessly for the things she had lost and couldn't control. She wished desperately that her mother was still alive, because if she was, than she could have made this entire situation better from the start. Her mother was better at talking to Takumi than she ever was.

Kaisa curled herself on the floor and cried, her throat growing raw. She didn't know how much time had passed, and she was surprised to hear the chamber door opening and a familiar voice talking to her.

"Kaisa?"

She looked up to see Thor looking down at her, a look of shock on his face. He immediately walked into the room and closed the door behind him, kneeling onto the floor by her. "Kaisa, what has happened to you? You are wounded."

"I'm fine." she muttered, wiping at her face. It didn't really help, it only smeared the blood on her face.

Thor gently took her hands. "Something has been troubling you ever since we arrived back from the Fire Realm. Both you and Loki have been different."

Kaisa laughed dryly, remembering of how Loki promised to help her bust Takumi out of prison. She doubted those plans still remained; it was something that she had to accomplish on her own. Nonetheless, Thor was staring at her with a kind expression on his face, waiting for an answer.

"Loki and I got into a small argument." Kaisa confessed, allowing Thor to wrap her knuckles with cloth. His eyes flickered upwards, the grey glowing dangerously.

"Did he lay a hand on you?" he asked angrily.

Kaisa shook her head. "No. I was just walking by his chambers when I heard screaming. I.. I don't know why but I opened his door, and he was lying in bed, asleep, having a horrid nightmare." She forced herself to chuckle. "He was screaming for Takumi, telling someone to let her go. I couldn't let him lie there to suffer, so I awoke him."

Thor grunted, listening along as he wrapped her other hand.

"I asked him if his nightmare was about Takumi, and he denied it so blatantly that I simply laughed at him." she rested her head against the bedpost, wincing at the sting on her hands. "He got angry."

"Loki does not do well when being corrected," Thor muttered. "To laugh at his exclamations can end up rather tense."

"He called me ignorant." she snapped defensively. "So I told him of the Vanir capabilities, how we have certain.. talents. Just like the Jotunns and Asgardians do. I told him how I am able to detect emotions, and that I knew he was lying."

Thor smiled at her, despite the news that she was telling him. "My brother is an excelled liar, but even he cannot hide against a Vanir. Especially one that has descended from royal blood." Then the amused smile dropped from his face. "What was he lying about this time, Lady Kaisa? Aside from the other things he has lied about."

"Takumi." Kaisa whispered. "I think he may have feelings towards her, but cannot admit it because of his bloodline. He has it set in his mind that he is nothing but a monster, unwanted by anyone."

Thor sighed. "He has been that way ever since he found out who his father really was. The gaining of the Tesseract nearly ruined his mind."

"Then you talk to him about it." Kaisa said angrily, getting to her feet. She slowly started to pick up the mess she had made, her composure as a princess back in place. "I cannot argue with him any longer."

Thor stood as well, then gently took her hands in his. "I will try. You should try and sleep, Lady Kaisa."

Kaisa looked around the room and forced another laugh. "Easier said than done."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, a gesture that shocked her down to her core. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight..." she whispered as he left, her skin still tingling from the kiss.

* * *

Takumi's eyes fluttered open, her head pounding and the taste of bile still in her mouth. She kept her focus on the small spiderweb in the corner of the room so that she wouldn't puke the rest of her stomach contents all over the floor. Everything was hurting her, and she couldn't help but feel the rough tunic of the dead man that now shared the cell with her.

Prisoner Twenty-Seven.

Gulping back the rest of her nausea, she sat up against the stone wall and tried to breathe in deeply. There were the remnants of dried tears and blood caked on her cheeks, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. What was the point? She was going to be stuck here, and if what the guard said was true, he was going to make her life hell if she refused to cooperate.

She made up her mind the second she stepped foot in this place- she was going to find a way out of this prison. Even if that meant pretending to be under the guards' spell. And if that failed, there would be the escape of execution.

She supposed it didn't matter what happened to her. Of course, Kaisa would be wrecked with the loss, but that would be the only person who would truly grieve. She felt a pang of guilt shooting through her chest at the thought. She didn't want Kaisa to suffer. Her sister had suffered enough, with the loss of her mother and dealing with the crazy, controlling asshole that they both called 'Father'. Hell, Kaisa was the one who didn't lose her mind at the funeral, she remained levelheaded the entire time, stroking Takumi's back as she sobbed at the casket.

Takumi scoffed at the memory. She had been so weak. And to make matters worse, she really missed her mother.

Even though she now knew that her mother wasn't really her mother.

Her life was a lie.

Takumi groaned as she shifted her position, her dress damp with blood and water. She curled her legs away from the corpse and pressed her calves to her thighs, trying to get warm. She bought her hands to her face and tried to summon her powers, anything that could remind her of some semblance of her old life. Of course, nothing came and she was stuck staring at her dirty hands, not even a small spark coming from her fingers.

She held back tears of frustration. Of course she wouldn't even be allowed the comfort of her fire powers. When Odin had drained her of her powers, he was sure thorough.

There was the clinking of chains, and Takumi could see a large man coming through the dark haze. It was that stupid guard from before, and this time he was holding a small try with something piled onto it. As he came into the light, she could see his fat little face shining with sweat and the wierd glint in his eyes. He didn't stop staring at her, not even as he slowly slid the tray underneath a small door of the cell to the other side.

With disdain, Takumi reached out and poked it. It was clearly some sort of food to feed the prisoners, but it was lukewarm and looked like someone barfed onto the tray before handing it out. It was disgusting.

"Thanks." she muttered, poking at it with her fingers.

"I bought you the best food we have to offer." the guard smiled at her, his teeth brown and black with rot. "Do you like it, Princess?"

Takumi eyed the food again. That was the best food they had? "Uh.." she said tentatively, trying to sound grateful. "I do. I appreciate it."

"I thought you would." his smelly breath washed over her, and she stifled the urge to puke. "Only the very best for the beautiful Princess."

She forced a small smile out of her, even though she really wanted to punch him in the face. As she bought the gruel to her lips, she pretended that she enjoyed it the same way she would enjoy a feast. With a grunt of satisfaction, the guard winked at her and stood up, his fingers curled around the iron-bars. She sat silently in the corner, trying to choke down whatever substance the food was. She flickered her eyes down to the grimy ground, pretending that she didn't feel the guard's eyes trace her body.

"Your attitude has changed immensely, Princess." the guard said huskily, pressing his torso against the bars. "No harsh words? No fighting?"

Takumi's eyes flickered back up to the guard, feeling a wave of horror wash over her at the sight of the the bulge he was displaying. It took all of her energy not to take tray and fling it at him. "I am too weak to fight any longer."

"Perhaps I can make you strong again." he growled, leaning in closer to the bars. "I can do things for you that Laufeyson will not."

She put down the tray, her food barely touched. "My.. er.. future husband will not approve of that." She couldn't help but celebrate at the disappointment crash on the guard's face. "But thank you for your offer. I will survive the three moons I have here."

The guard looked crushed, and then the expression slowly turned to fury. "After what I have done, and you will not repay me?"

"I will pay you in a great deal of wealth when I am set free." Takumi said smoothly. "You will be greatly paid for your services."

"I do not want money. I want what I can never have." he hissed, reaching his arms through the bars. He forcefully grabbed her arm and dragged her forward, her head slamming against the iron-bars. Takumi let out a howl of pain and tried to pry herself free, but the guard simply grabbed at her face and wrenched it upwards, her eyes up towards his face. He smiled greedily. "I want you, Princess."

"Let me go." Takumi hissed, tears spilling out of her eyes. She tried to push herself free, but she was too weak. "I don't want you. Leave me alone."

"I don't need your permission for anything, you whore." the guard snapped, spit flying out of his mouth. "I get what I want. And this is what _I _want."

Takumi let out a muffled scream as he threw her backwards in the cell and opened up the door, closing them both inside the tiny space. His large hands pawed at her arms, pulling her up and pushing her against the wall. She let out a loud scream, trying to alert someone else, but she knew that no one would come. He laughed as his face loomed closer to hers, his mouth rubbing against her neck.

It was disgusting. Takumi felt more tears slip down her face, her struggling doing nothing. The prisoner dress she now wore was threadbare and revealing, so worn out and used that it was falling apart on her body.

His lips were trailing down her jaw to the part of her breasts. There was a low chuckle, almost sounding sinister. Takumi trembled with terror and tried to block out the painful feeling of his hands locked on her wrists, and the rough lips that were scratching at her skin.

"Agor!" a rough voice boomed out.

The guard suddenly jerked his head upwards. "WHAT?!" he roared.

"Tis your turn to train the newcomers! Lugar has gone home with the chills!" the voice echoed down the hall. "Come at once!"

The guard, who Takumi now knew as Agor, turned to her with a scowl etched on his face. Then he smiled, with a glint of sadistic evil still twinkling in his eyes.

"So sorry, Princess, but I must return to my duties now. We shall finish this little session later, no?"

Takumi trembled, her voice shaking with both fear and fury. "S-screw off, you fat bastard. I-I hate you!"

He threw her against the wall again, and she slumped down to the floor in pain. "I will be back. Do not make me angry again, you little tease, or you will wish for death."

* * *

_Saved by the guard... Barely. _

_Review please. :3_


	19. Loki can't catch a break

Loki quietly opened the door to his chambers and stepped out warily. He silently looked around him, and to his relief, there wasn't anyone in the halls.

It was the brink of dawn; the sun was just peeking over the top of the horizon. He had stayed awake for the entire night, leafing through his old books and trying to occupy his mind elsewhere. But it was fruitless; he kept thinking of Takumi. After hours of pondering and trying to rid himself of the guilt that was pressing on his chest, he had finally given up and nearly smashed his head against the wall. It was so unlike him to even think about... a woman. Especially a woman that had caused him so much trouble.

The maidens were always lusting for Thor, anyways. None of them had ever paid him any mind. No one wanted the inferior brother who was unfit to wield anything but magic.

Loki quietly slipped into the servants quarters, his feet making soft noises as he trotted across the stone. His fingers tightened against his tunic straps as he thought about his plans- the plans that would land him in the prisons himself if he got caught.

There was no reason to do what he was doing, certainly no one was forcing him to do it. He just felt compelled to.

He quickly ducked into one of the servants' bathroom facilities. After he closed the door behind him, he pulled out clothing from underneath his coat, letting the simple servant garments fall at his feet. As he slowly peeled off his usual attire, he felt his dignity slowly drain away. After a few painstaking moments, he was out of his royal garments, and he stood in front of the mirror, exposed. He grimaced as he pulled on the other grey clothing, the rough cloth scratching at his skin.

The servant clothes hung loosely off of him, as typically did with all of them. Loki couldn't help but wince as he tied the makeshift belt around his waist and tied ropes on his wrists, the Asgardian servant symbol. Then, with one final sigh, he grabbed the cloak and tied it around him, pulling the hood up over his head.

He stared in the mirror, hating himself more than ever. Why was he subjecting himself to his humiliation and misery? He wasn't sure of the answer.

"I do hope you are satisfied with yourself, Kaisa," he mumbled as he put his usual clothing in a small bag. He pushed it back into a small space, the same space that he and Thor used as a secret spot for stuffing hidden treasures. Of course, the childish treasures were long gone, but the empty space still remained.

It would be perfect for the time being.

He stepped out into the hall and shuffled over to the stables, where the horses were being kept. As he pushed open the door, he was met by the soft sounds of the animals and soft light floating down on him from the suns. Loki bowed his head and slowly walked over to the first horse he saw, placing a hand on the mane. A guard walked right by him, hitting him hard on the shoulder as he walked by.

"Ooops." The guard laughed mockingly, giving Loki a smug smile. "My dearest apologies, _slave_."

Loki gritted his teeth but kept his head down and his mouth shut. He only had to deal with these idiots for a moment, just long enough to make a clean escape without attracting more guards to pummel him, mistaking him for an actual servant. The lack of reaction seemed to stun the guard, and he stepped closer to Loki, his foul morning breath breathing all over him.

"Slave, what thou you doing here?" he hissed suspiciously. "Tis still early."

"I have been called for prison duty." Loki said in a low voice, hoping that would suffice. It wasn't, for the guard poked Loki in the shoulder rather hard.

"Did you hear about Princess Takumi getting sent to the prison for reckless endangerment?" he crooned, a bit of amusement creeping into his voice. "She is a feisty one. No doubt Prince Loki wants nothing of her- he is about as interested in her as Thor is in reading." The guard paused and leaned in closer to Loki's ear. "Are you going to try and get a taste of Loki's Princess, boy?"

Loki jerked backwards violently, bowing his head even more to the ground so the guard wouldn't see the horrible scowl on his face. "Of course not."

"Well you should." the guard straightened up and laughed barbarically. "Tis the only action you will ever see, my boy!"

Loki scowled and climbed atop the horse, pushing back the urge to transform the man's genitals to scorpions. He simply uttered a command to the horse and trotted out, leaving the laughing guard behind.

After a few moments of traveling on the horse, Loki shuddered angrily, his fingers tightening its' hold on the reigns. Did all the guards and servants speak this way behind their backs? He finally saw why people were so lucid on Takumi being transported to the prisons; they saw her nothing but a playtoy for the servants. They assumed he didn't want her and was throwing her out for everyone else.

He grit his teeth and pushed the horse to move faster.

Dark clouds gathered above him, blocking out the sun's morning rays. The ground shook a bit with thunder and the wind was picking up quite a bit. The stormy weather seemed to match his mood lately- always brooding and ready to lash out. He simply closed his eyes for a moment and felt the rain run down his face, staining the brown cloth and dripping onto his chest.

When he opened his eyes again, he could see the large prison building looming in the distance. He shuddered involuntarily; he still felt the numbing stench of the prisons, the filth that never seemed to leave a persons' body. As he got closer to the building, he could hear the yelling of the guards' morning training session and the clashing of swords.

He jumped to the ground and roughly tied the animal to it's post, cursing under his breath. This was a stupid, horrible idea. Out of all the ideas he had through the years, none of them were as daring or as offhandedly put together as this. The guards opened the doors for him without so much as a blink, looking at him with the same disgust as they did with all the servants. Loki couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of satisfaction at his deceptiveness.

The prison hall was as dark and damp as he remembered. The front desk was piled high with parchments regarding prisoner statements, and the guard sorting through them had a bored look on his face. Loki approached him slowly, his head bowed down with false respect. "Sir."

"Mmph." the guard grunted in response, his eyes lazily flickering over Loki. "What do you want, boy?"

"I have been told tis my turn to watch the prisoner Takumi Vanir." he said smoothly, staring down at the grimy floor and trying to keep his voice low. His hands tightened as the guard looked him over. "Tis my first day, could you point me in the direction?"

"Incompetent fool." the guard hissed, throwing down his parchment. He pointed a stubby finger towards one of the tunnels. "Southeast corridor, go straight down the stairs to the last floor. Ye hurry, boy."

"Thank you." Loki turned from the desk and started to head in that direction when he heard the guard's raspy voice behind him.

"She is a feisty one, my lass. If she strikes you, do not hesitate to use force. We have an array of weaponry for you to use." there was a cruel laugh. "Not to mention, she is a beauteous one. Tis yer lucky day!"

_Oh, I cannot wait. _Loki thought bitterly, ignoring the guard and simply walking in the direction he was told to go. He closed the door firmly behind him, trying not to trip on the steep stairs.

It was dark, damp, and smelled like it hadn't been cleaned in the last century. It was the exactly the same as it was when he left it, and he felt his stomach twinge uncomfortably as he descended further. The lanterns on the stone wall flickered dangerously, and as he put a hand on the wall to steady himself, he felt something wet and slick underneath his skin. He jerked his hand away and wiped it down on his rough clothing, wrinkling his face in disgust.

When he got to the bottom, he found himself staring at the cells of the prisoners, each one of them marked with a number. Some of them were empty, some of them had people in them. Loki couldn't help but stare at them for a moment, knowing all too well how they felt. Even with the cloth hood over his face, he could still see the flicker of disgust that passed on the prisoners' faces as they stared at him, thinking that he was just another servant to punish them. One of them, a straggly woman with a scar on her neck from whips, sneered at him and tugged forward. Her hands were shackled to the wall and her feet were bound.

"Slave. Come hither and give ol Sacara a kiss." she snarled, puckering her lips mockingly. He flinched; and all the prisoners started to laugh at him.

Loki felt his face flush as he walked past them, his hands grabbed in a tight fist. They were _laughing_ at him, still jeering at him as though he was a nobody. Granted, they didn't recognize him, but that didn't give him any comfort either. A Prince or not, people still thought him of nothing but a nuisance.

After what felt like forever, he found the door to the descending cells, the ones that were reserved for the worst of criminals. He tightened his lip. That's where _his _cell was. And now Takumi was down there, suffering the same way he had, and she hadn't even done anything wrong.

He had to do this.

The door opened with a loud clang, and he found himself standing in the corridor and looking out at the cells. The last guard waiting against a cell grunted and pushed past him quickly, slamming the door behind him as he left. Loki couldn't help but feel relieved; at least he could speak to her without worrying about being caught himself.

There were loud groans as he walked by, some of which were pleas, some of them were angry threats, and some of them were just utters of pain. Loki shuddered and kept his gaze on the path ahead of him, his teeth clenched angrily. He hated being here. Perhaps it was just time to forget about this whole ridiculous plan and just walk back out the door, and tell Kaisa to deal with her own sister, and that he simply didn't care anymore.

But that would be a lie, he mused. And according to Kaisa, she could see through them.

His foot shuffled against the hard concrete, fear crawling up through his throat with each step. He tried to occupy his mind on trying to convince himself that Kaisa was lying about her Vanir capabilities, but nothing was working.

Finally, he saw what he was looking for. It was Takumi's cell, all the way in the last row of cells. Her cell was the only one barely lit, the others pitch dark as they were empty. He could see her curled up in the corner of her cell, the shackles looking painfully tight on her wrists and ankles. She looked freezing cold, her threadbare dress was unraveling and growing thin. And in the corner was another crumpled.. object. As Loki approached closer, he saw an arm.

He stifled back a small utter of disgust. It was a corpse, stuffed into the same cell as her. A punishment, no doubt.

His foot accidently hit a small rock, and it scuttled across the stone floor with a loud rattle. Takumi's head shot up, and her eyes lay instantly on him. Fear leaped into her eyes, and she backed up against the wall further, as if to get away from him as much as possible.

Loki got up to the cell, his fingers curling around the iron-bars. Something welled inside his chest, something close to regret and pity. She didn't deserve this. He wanted to say something, perhaps even sorry, but the words were stuck in his throat. All he could do was stare at her, his face contorted in a mix between sadness and pity.

Takumi stared at him, her eyes watering with terror and her mouth set in a hard line. "Another guard?" she snapped.

Loki tried to think of something witty to say, but absolutely came to mind. For once in his life, he was speechless.

"If you're wanting to mess with me, forget it." Takumi snarled after a few moments of silence. "I'm not playing any games with any of you, so screw off."

"I am not here for that." Loki said dryly, finally finding his voice.

Takumi squinted, her hands up in a defensive stance. "Yeah, right."

Loki tightened his hands on the bars. "You do not recognize me, Takumi?"

She was silent for a moment, staring at him at first with anger. Then her face changed, and something else crossed her face. She slowly crawled over to him, and when she was as far as her chains would allow her, she got to her feet. Takumi grunted with effort, pain taking over her limbs as she stretched her wounds and muscles, but she finally stood and leaned against the bars. With a steady hand, she reached through the bars and touched his hood.

".. you.." she whispered. Her fingers gently prodded the entrance of his hood, almost touching his face. "I recognize those lovely green eyes..."

"Do you?" Loki said quietly. Despite his mind's protests, his own hands were reaching up to touch hers. It was as though his body was reacting without his control.

"I do.." she said, even more quietly. Her fingers moved past the cloth hood to his face, and they trailed gently over his skin, caressing him.

It almost felt _good. _

Loki had the strongest urge to lean against the bars and let her continue to caress him, to allow the moment of bliss last a little longer.

Suddenly, the fingers against his face had snaked up to his hair, and suddenly those gentle hands were rough, her she was tugging violently on the strands. She let out a yell and pulled backwards, smashing his face against the iron-bars. Loki grunted and tried to pull free, but Takumi's grip on his hair was much too strong, and it hurt too much to pull free. So he just stood there helplessly, feeling extraordinarily stupid.

"What do you want, Laufeyson?" Takumi hissed in his ear. She tugged harder. "Just here to gloat at me, point and laugh at me because I finally got what I deserved? Well go ahead and laugh." She let go of him and pushed him onto the ground, a dark look passed over her face. "Go back home."

A pang of pain ripped through Loki's scalp as she finally let go, and he lay on the floor, holding his head. Anger surged through his veins- she _dared _treat him this way? After all he went through to get to her?

He got up angrily and rattled the iron-bars violently. "You mewling quim.."

"Save me the bullshit and leave me be." Takumi snarled. "I want nothing to do with you."

"I am not here to laugh at you. I am here to set you free!" Loki slammed his fist against the bars.

Takumi laughed and leaned back against the wall, a maniac expression on her face. "Yeah, and I bet Odin is gonna throw a party for me too. Oh! And Kaisa will probably just forgive me for all my mistakes too, right?"

"I should not have come here. You obviously have not _suffered _enough to care what happens." Loki hissed. "Perhaps you need a longer sentence than three moons."

A look of real fear passed through Takumi's eyes, and she quieted down and slumped to the ground, the sudden mania gone. Loki was stunned to see tears gathering in her eyes, and a look of hopelessness on her face instead.

"Fine." she whispered, her voice hoarse. "You're right, I haven't suffered enough. But I beg of you, do not pretend to help me. Please. Just let me be."

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_Loki can never catch a break, can he? _

_Please review. :)_


	20. The Truth Will Set You Free

_The beginning of this chapter takes place basically in Takumi's POV before Loki arrived, so that there's no confusion. _

_Enjoy ^^_

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Takumi rubbed some of the gruel onto her wrists and ankles, biting her lip in pain as the pudding-like substance burned on her chafed skin. She knew that the disgusting stuff was supposed to be food, but she couldn't swallow down another bite. Her stomach was aching from it, and she had thrown it all up in the last hour.

So much for the best food they had, eh?

She shook her head and threw the plate at the wall, watching it shatter all over the dead prisoner. She brought her knees closer to her chest and hugged herself, suddenly desperate for some warmth.

The prisons were cold; so dark and damp that she felt as though she'd never be warm again. She hadn't slept well in days; the fear of Agor standing in front of her cell and watching her sleep was always lurking in the back of her mind. Takumi sighed heavily and rubbed her wrists again. Her body was weakening from all the beatings and punishments, and it was only a matter of time before she passed out completely. And when she did, she had to pray that Agor wouldn't pay her a visit.

She heard the distinct sound of the guard doors opening, and the shuffle of feet as the servants switched out. For a moment, Takumi could smell the air from the outside, a fresh welcome from the staleness in her cell. She clutched her hands together and tried to breathe in that tiny breath of wind, wishing that it would only last for a moment longer. She had missed the outside air, desperately wanting to breathe in something other than the mildew and death that lurked down in the cells.

The door suddenly slammed and there was the quiet sounds of footsteps, indicating the start of a new shift.

The sounds of moaning and pleading suddenly filled the chambers, along with the footsteps of the patrolling servant combing through the cells. Takumi closed her eyes and rested her head against the grimy wall.

Before she knew it, she heard a soft sound right outside her cell. Her eyes instantly snapped open and her hands flew up in a defensive stance. She half expected to see Agor standing there with a hungry grin, but to her surprise, it was a servant, a brown hood over its face. The hooded figure didn't speak, it merely stood there, staring at her. Her skin prickled as she watched him.

"Another guard?" she snapped, unable to control her mouth.

The servant stayed silent, much to her discomfort.

"If you're wanting to mess with me, forget it." she snarled, the words spilling from her mouth before she could stop them. "I'm not playing games with any of you, so screw off."

Seemingly undisturbed by her snappish answer, the servant spoke in a low voice. "I am not here for that."

Takumi squinted her eyes in suspicion. "Yeah, right."

"You do not recognize me?" the servant said again, this time his voice changing. Takumi nearly fell against the wall in utter shock as she recognized the smooth voice, a voice that she was sure she wouldn't hear again until her hell was over. She kept staring at him with utter disbelief, her mouth gaping open.

He spoke again. "Takumi."

"... you... " she whispered. Was her ears deceiving her? Was this kind of sick horrible joke? A million thoughts were running through her mind as she slowly got to her feet. She was so sore, her legs were screaming in pain as she lifted herself up. She grunted as she tugged at her chains, going as far as they would allow her to go. Her hands were shaking as they slipped through the thin bars, reaching up to the hooded figure's face. The servant got closer to her, his face coming into view at last.

Takumi swallowed back sudden wave of emotion as she peered at him. "I.. I recognize those lovely green eyes."

The corners of Loki's mouth turned upwards in what looked like a smile, and his emerald eyes stayed locked on hers. "Do you?" he asked softly.

"I do..." she said, almost whispering the words. She couldn't help herself as her fingers pushed past the burlap hood and onto his face, touching the soft skin underneath hers. She had to make sure he was real, that this wasn't some horrible illusion that Odin had sent to trick her.

He was _real. _For the first time in what felt like centuries, she was touching someone familiar. Takumi held back her tears as she let her fingers gently trail his skin, letting a few small flickers of pleasure to flow through her. Loki leaned in closer to the bars, pushing her fingers back so that it was almost like they were embracing, the iron-bars the only separation between them. She almost wished that he was the one who was in the cell with her, holding her against him and keeping her safe.

Takumi saw his eyes close, as though he was savoring her touch.

A sudden flash of anger suddenly surged through her. What the hell was he doing here? To taunt, to tease? Maybe he thought that she would be desperate for a way out, willing to do whatever it took to have to released. Even if that meant...

Her eyes widened, and without thinking, her fingers suddenly grabbed tightly against his long hair and slammed his face forwards on the iron-bars. She let out an angry yell and tugged hard, fury flowing through her veins like blood. Loki let out a pained grunt and tried to pull himself free, but her grip was much too strong.

She couldn't help but sneer at his weakness. "What do you want, Laufeyson?" she hissed, hating him more than ever. "Just here to gloat at me, point and laugh at me because I finally got what I deserved? Well go ahead and laugh." she let go of him in satisfaction, watching him fall backwards onto the floor with giddy "Go home."

Loki's face changed from disbelief to anger, and he jumped to his feet and slammed his fist against the bars. "You mewling quim..." he spat.

"Leave the bullshit and leave me be. I want nothing to do with you!" Takumi laughed in a monotone voice.

Loki slammed his fist against the bars for a second time. "I am not here to laugh at you! I am here to set you free!"

She laughed again and leaned against the slimy wall, her hands shaking with the sudden waves of emotion. Her legs were wobbling like gelatin, threatening to send her down to the grimy floor. "Yeah, and I bet Odin's gonna throw a party for me too. Oh! And Kaisa will just forgive me for all my mistakes, right?"

"I should not have come here. You obviously haven't _suffered _enough to care what happens." the dark god hissed, his emerald eyes flashing with rage. "Perhaps you need a sentence longer than three moons."

At those words, Takumi felt her entire demeanor crash at her feet. To spend more time in this.. wretched place?

To always have the damp feeling in her skin; to smell the rotting of the dead prisoners that resided here, to always force herself to stay awake so that she wouldn't be watched while she slept. Takumi let out a small moan and slumped to the ground, her legs giving up underneath her. Tears sprung in her eyes as she thought about the endless beatings; the constant harassment...

And the endless cycle of unbearable pain.

Takumi sucked in the last of her pride and looked up at Loki, her small hands curled up into fists as she tried to regain what was left of her dignity. "Fine. You're right; I haven't suffered enough." Then her pride crumbled, and she felt herself break apart in front of him. "But I beg of you, do not pretend to help me. Please. Just let me be."

She curled herself back to her usual corner, bringing her knees up to her chest and clutching herself for some sort of warmth. Tears slipped from her eyes before she could stop it, and a cracked whimper escaped. She turned away from Loki so that he wouldn't see her pitiful crying. The last thing she needed was for him to make fun of her.

Loki stood there, his fingers curled around the iron-bars. She couldn't see him; not that she would want to, but she still felt his unwavering gaze on her. It didn't feel like the guard gazes, which were evil and hungry. It felt more like anger, bitterness, and resentment.

Anger, bitterness, and resentment for even coming to see her in the first place.

Takumi felt an apology bubble up in her throat, and she felt compelled to turn around and scream that she was sorry. Sorry for everything that she had put him, Thor, and Kaisa through. She suddenly wanted to tell him that she deserved to rot in this hell and that he shouldn't feel sorry for her. As she wiped the tears off her cheeks, she had made up her mind to apologize, once and for all.

Just as she lifted her head to face him, she was met by those striking emerald eyes. Loki stared at her with a scowl on his face, his lip tightened with anger. She was speechless, his unwavering gaze rendering her thoughts to scramble.

"You are a waste of air, Takumi Vanir." Loki snarled. Takumi froze at his words; her mind desperately trying to come up with some sort of comeback. She couldn't think of a thing.

"I.. I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice inaudible.

Loki leaned in closer and scowled. "Do not attempt to defend yourself, you miserable girl. You mean nothing to me. You are nothing but a cowardly woman, sniveling in her own tears and awaiting the day that death has mercy on you." He let out a choked laugh, clearly enjoying the expression on Takumi's face. "Your people of the Fire Realm are long gone, and you are the only one left. You are ALONE! All alone, dear Takumi, forever suffering the fate of loneliness."

Takumi stared at him, her eyes wide with shock. She tried to bring herself together and come up with a witty statement that would leave him scrambling, but she had nothing except a small noise of disbelief.

"I have wasted my time coming here!" Loki shouted angrily, roughly shaking the bars. "I have wasted my breath taking to you. I once had a debt to you, but that debt has been paid, and I owe you nothing."

"You never owed me anything to begin with!" Takumi cried in frustration, finding her voice at last. She tried to lunge at him, but the chains stopped short and jerked her back. She stared at him with contempt. "There was no debt to be paid!"

"You are nothing but a troublemaker." he said, an angry grin peaking up at the corners of his mouth. "And you have what you deserve. Down here in this cell, suffering what I have suffered."

Takumi struggled against her restraints, trying to reach towards the bars again. "What have I done to you!?" she screamed, feeling her chafed skin rip from the metal. "What have I ever done to you?!"

"Why do you stay alive when no one wants you?!" he screamed back, his voice rising to an earsplitting volume. "No one wants you, Takumi! And no one will ever will!"

With a swift move, Loki pulled up his burlap hood and disappeared from the front of the cell, silently disappearing the darkness. His quiet footsteps faded quickly, and then there was the heavy banging of the door as it shut.

Takumi sat in place for a moment, her ears still ringing from his words. Her shoulders started to shake, and then she crumbled downwards. She lay on the floor and cried, her wrists bleeding out onto the stone floor. It soaked in her hair and her tears stung the cuts on her face, but she no longer cared. He was right. She was a nobody.

She would always be a nobody.

"I'm sorry!" she screamed to no one in particular. Her voice echoed in the chambers, bouncing eerily off the walls. She let out a pained sob and screamed again, her lungs aching from the effort. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Takumi's sobs quieted down to whimpers, and she stared at the front of the dark cell. "I'm sorry."

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_Please review. _


	21. A Battle Within Himself

_Angst in this chapter xx_

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He was disgusted with himself.

How for one moment could he have fooled himself into helping such a lowly cause? Takumi Vanir was beyond help. She didn't deserve an inkling of his sympathy, nor did she deserve any help from anyone else.

Loki stormed out of the palace, no longer caring at the incredulous looks the guards were giving him. He simply got onto his horse and rode off, leaving the stony building and Takumi Vanir behind him.

He stopped the horse in front of a meadow and ran off into the grassy field, pulling off his servant cloak and throwing it to the wind. It was pouring out, but he didn't care about the mere raindrops. The water felt soothing on his reddened cheeks, his face still flushed from humiliation. He crumbled onto the ground himself and buried his head into his hands, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably with rage and hatred.

He still clearly remembered the calm look on Takumi's face as she recognized him, her small hands reaching slowly towards his face. For a moment, Loki thought he had seen relief in those brown eyes. She had been crying, he had realized, as she lifted herself up off the dirty ground and to him. His skin still tingled from the sensation of her gentle fingers caressing his face. All he could remember was her large soft eyes, her small mouth curving up into a smile, and her hands exploring past his burlap hood. It would have been so simple for him to open the cell and take her in his arms.

But thats not what he intended... was it?

Was it? He wasn't sure what his intentions were anymore.

Loki let out a large wail of frustration and slammed his fists down onto the muddy ground.

He didn't want to admit it, and he had tried fervently to rid himself of those strange emotions the moment the Vanir sisters had arrived. From that one fated moment when he kissed Takumi's hand and shared that look of dread with her, he had felt that... alluring pull.

He groaned as more memories surfaced. He thought of when she had helped him when he was about to perish in that forsaken Fire realm. If she had truly wanted to be rid of him, she would've just left him for dead in the ash, watching from a distance as the lava monster ripped him apart. But she hadn't. Takumi had given him compassion and understanding just when he needed it, and she never seemed to want anything in return.

She knew what it was like to be in his place when no one else did. If he didn't know better he would think that he was starting to like her.

_No. _His mind firmly screamed. It couldn't be true. Romance was something out a novel- made up by the loneliest of people who wished their lives weren't as empty. Loki remembered reading about them as a young boy. The main characters would be passionately in love; the man was a brave heroic warrior and the woman a fair and virtuous maiden. Although he would NEVER admit it to Thor or anyone else, he had secretly wanted a life like that for himself. As a young boy he spent his time trying to perfect ways to be like the charming and strong men in his books.

But he was nothing like that. He was a monster. A failure. A liar and a deceiver.

And Takumi was a Fire maiden. She was stubborn and rebellious, a pure streak of fiery light that refused to stay tied down.

So why was he so drawn to her?

Loki angrily got to his feet and punched at the air, his skin turning icy blue and the raindrops around him transforming into small pellets of ice. He saw himself on the new forming frost on the tree trunks, a blue hulking monster with red eyes and disturbing blue lines on his body. He sneered at his reflection and felt another surge of hatred for his form.

_Look at yourself. _He thought feverishly. _You are disgusting. Disturbing. You are the very thing that EVERYONE IN THIS REALM LOATHES! Do you not realize that Takumi looks at you with the same disgust as everyone else? _

He started to laugh. There wasn't anything funny about this. In fact, tears had sprung up in his eyes and were now flowing down his cheek in a cold flow of icy water and mixing with the rain. But he was still laughing manically, his fists balled up in rage. He was sobbing and laughing at the same time, his mind reeling into the recesses of insanity.

No wonder Takumi had attacked him the way she had. She had assumed that he had come to the cell to have his way with her, to beat her like all the others had, and to sneer at her as she sat rotting in that cell. Even as she was cold and bleeding, her body about to give up from all the pain she was in, she still had fight in her. As he sat writhing in pain, he felt a flash of admiration.

He could have never done that. He was a coward.

Loki sank to the ground, the sudden mania gone. He changed back to his usual form and stared at the rapidly disappearing frost. He sat there in silence, listening to the soft patters of the pouring rain and the rumbles of thunder that occasionally rocked the ground. He felt numb; all the emotion that he had felt a second before had disappeared, leaving him drained and exhausted.

He got to his feet and shuffled back to his horse. He wasn't surprised to see that the animal was gone- the beast had run off in the storm. With a shuddering sigh, he just got on the path to Asgard and started to walk in that direction, his feet growing heavier with each step.

Walking to the palace felt like centuries, and his aching feet didn't stop protesting. As he entered the city closest to the palace, he looked around him and saw that the streets were empty, puddles gathering on the cobblestones. Rain dripped off his face and down his shirt, soaking him down to the bone. He was going to get sick, being out in this horrid weather. The thought almost made him laugh again. How many times had he gotten sick as a child, due to venturing out in the wilderness with Thor? Too many times. Of course, there was always Frigga to comfort them while they were ill.

He rubbed his face and sighed as he sluggishly walked up the stone steps. His body felt like collapsing underneath him.

The doors quietly opened and he slithered into the palace, trying to blend into the darkness. The servant clothing hung off of him heavily, dripping with water. With a few quick steps, he slipped into the servants restrooms and removed the brick that covered his stashed armor. He took it out and changed into his usual attire, feeling a tiny bit of strength return to him as he looked a bit like his normal self.

If his normal self had red eyes from crying and his face flushed from embarrassment.

Loki wiped back his hair and left the restrooms, leaving behind the crumpled wet pile of servant clothing. He headed to his chambers, desperate for some warmth and sleep to clear his mind. It was the only thing he was looking forward to at this point. He turned down a hall and nearly clobbered into Kaisa, who was clutching a bag of some sort in her hands.

"Laufeyson." she said coldly, eyeing him suspiciously. It was obvious she hadn't forgotten about their small argument. She wrinkled her nose at him. "You're soaked through. Were you outside?"

"That is none of your concern." he growled. He tried to push past her. "I need rest."

Kaisa grabbed his arm forcefully and pulled back, staring at him angrily. "Do not play with me, Loki. Thor has been looking for you all day, and now you've suddenly shown up? Where were you?"

Loki bit his lip angrily and pushed back a retort. "Are you my mother now, Kaisa?"

"You are impossible." she sighed breathlessly. Then she stopped talking and eyed him more carefully, her face contorted in confusion. "Wait- what tis this?"

Before he could stop her, her hands had reached up and plucked something from his hair. She bought it down and looked at it carefully; then her face snapped up and anger flashed in her eyes. "Limestone?"

"Leave me be." he said warily, stepping out of her reach.

"You went to the prisons today, didn't you?" she hissed, waving her hand around. "And after all that fuss you made with me! Was that just some kind of cover-up, Laufeyson? You suck at lying!"

"Shhh." Loki growled, clamping a hand over her mouth. "Must you speak so loudly?"

Kaisa looked at him with angry eyes, her eyebrows kitted together with frustration. Loki grabbed her arm and stormed to the nearest room, pulling the both of them inside. He closed the door behind him, hearing Kaisa's angry mutterings behind him. His head leaned heavily against the wood, wishing he could plug his ears for the rest of his life.

"How **_dare_** you go to the prisons without me? I specifically told you that I wanted to see my sister, and you just stomp all over that! Especially after you caused this huge fight about my Vanir capabilities! You are nothing but a pathetic liar, Loki Laufeyson!" Kaisa ranted, pacing the room with her arms flailing around. She turned around and shot a poisonous glance at him. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Loki slowly turned from the door and stared at her. "You talk too much for your own good, Kaisa."

"Whatever." she huffed, still looking miffed. Then she folded her arms over her chest and her expression softened. "Loki, how is Takumi? Is she faring well? Please tell me that no one has hurt her."

A flash of Takumi being restrained in her cell popped up in Loki's mind again, and he winced. "I cannot say that."

"Oh." Kaisa started to whimper, her hands shaking. Her eyes grew wide and her voice was a whisper. "How is she then...?"

"She has been beaten." Loki said softly, surprised to hear his own voice shaking a bit. "They gave her a prisoner garment, and it is much too thin to wear down in those cells. The restraints were too tight and they were cutting into her skin. She was bloody, Kaisa, with painful wounds. And.." he swallowed back a lump of emotion. "There was a dead prisoner in her cell. I believe it was a form of punishment."

"She was bleeding?! A dead prisoner?!" Kaisa started to shake visibly, tears running down her face. "Oh gods. I was hoping that she would be okay... that she..."

Loki stared at her numbly, his face expressionless.

"Oh gods, Takumi." she cried. She looked at Loki tearfully. "Did you at least reassure her that everything would be okay? Did you tell her I miss her?"

Loki winced again. "I started to, and then she attacked me out of rage. I suspect that she believed I had a.. different intention for her." He paused and wished he could disappear as he watched Kaisa's face contort into disbelief. "We got into a small argument and I left the prisons soon after that."

"What did you say?" Kaisa asked dangerously.

"That is none of your business." Loki snapped. That retort earned him a harsh slap in the face, and he bought a hand up to the burning that was left on his cheek.

"You have hit a new low!" Kaisa cried, grabbing him by his hair and shaking him roughly. Loki stood there like a limp rag doll, too tired to do a thing. She slashed another hand across his face. "That is my sister! My family!"

"My family as well." Loki said in a muffled tone. He held his face up and stared at her. "She is my to-be wife."

"No." Kaisa gulped, shaking her head violently. "I will not allow her to be a part of your screwed up family, Loki! The moment she is released from the prisons, I am taking her, and we are leaving. I no longer care about our fathers' deal, nor do I care about Asgardian rules. She is never going to be safe here!" She sobbed and backed towards the door. "And I thought you truly cared for her! I.. I was wrong."

_You were not! _Loki's mind screamed, desperately wanting to let the truth spill forth. _You were not wrong! I care! I care!_

"It seems as though you were." he lied dryly.

Kaisa let out a choked sob and shook her head. "You brute." she whispered fiercely. "Go fall off the Bifrost again, would you?"

With that statement, she slammed the door and left. Loki was left standing in the small servant room, staring at the door, tears of regret and shame gathering in his eyes.

She was right.

They were always right.

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_Please review._


	22. Made up my Mind

_"She is never going to be safe here!" _She had screamed, her arms waving angrily in the air. "_I thought that you had truly cared for her!" _

_"It seems as though you were." _

Kaisa stumbled down the hall, unsure how to react to what had just happened. Her shocked screams still echoed in her ears, continually screaming at Loki that she had thought.. that she had believed that _something _was there. The cold look in the God of Mischief's eyes said it all- even before he spoke those horrid words; she already had that sinking feeling twisting in her gut.

Why had he done this? To hurt them? To hurt Thor?

She stormed into the main parlor, briskly making her way to the outside gardens of Asgard. Even though it was now dark and cold outside, she simply wrapped her arms around her and continued to walk, until she was too tired to continue any further. She stepped into a small topiary and stared numbly at the marble walls, her eyes glazed over as they looked listlessly at the engravings.

There was a cold breeze, and she shivered. Her face was especially cold; she was surprised to see that tears had slipped down her face without her realization. She wasn't feeling sad- she was feeling utter rage. For once in her life, she wasn't upset at Takumi, and she wasn't upset at the All-Father for making the choice of her going to the prisons. Instead, she was furious at herself for letting her follow meekly at her father's orders.

All in all, when she really looked at it, it was truly her fault.

Kaisa balled her fists into her hands and choked back a sob. She hadn't even wanted to leave Vanaheim in the first place; the only reason she ever agreed to the ridiculous deal was because Takumi had found out about her true heritage. Being the eldest, she thought it would be a good time to start over, help Takumi get over the terrible ordeal.

_That is not the only reason you wished to leave... _

She shook her head vigorously, ashamed. Of course there was no other reason, she scolded herself. She loved Father- for he was all she had left besides Takumi. Besides, Takumi didn't truly feel like her old self after she had found out the truth, it was like living with the husk of a girl. Yes, the only person who acted as though he cared about her was Father.

But he wasn't here now, was he? He couldn't protect Takumi, even if he wanted to. Kaisa felt frustration build up inside of her chest, threatening to explode.

"You are supposed to protect her, dammit!" she cried out suddenly. "You are supposed to be there for her, hands and foot, like the man you so claim to be!" Kaisa pounded her fists on the marble wall, venting with fury. "You have lied! Are you satisfied now, Silvertongue?! Now my sister is lying the prisons, rotting away as we speak, bleeding and dying of the wounds that are inflicted onto her, whilst we sit in the damned palace doing nothing but mundane activities! What is the good in that, Loki?! Please, tell me, why have you done this!? If you hate us, please tell us so we may make our leave and never come back to this wretched kingdom! I beg of you, tell me the truth so I may save my sister from destroying herself! I do not want her to turn out as bitter as you!"

She was speaking to no one in particular; just screaming it out into the air for everyone to hear. But that didn't make her feel much better, and she felt her voice hitch up in her throat and her vision blurred by tears. She sat on the stone bench and let the tears streak down her face, helplessly crying over something that she couldn't control.

It had always been that way, hadn't it? She was useless. What good was being a Princess when all she did was nothing?

Her shaking fists crumbled into weak hands, and as her crying slowed down to a small trickle, she felt her shoulders tremble with both the cold and overwhelming emotions. She suddenly felt like collapsing onto the benches and just lying there for a while; exhausted from her fit. It was freezing now, and she wondered how long it would take before the cold would take over her completely, just as it had Loki.

Just as it was taking over Takumi.

"I hate you." she murmured viciously. "I hate you."

"Lady Kaisa, whom do you hate?" a soft voice inquired. Startled, Kaisa looked up and saw Thor standing in the doorway of the topiary, looking at her with none other than sympathy. She quickly sat up and tried to straighten herself, embarrassed that he had seen her wallowing in her misery like this.

"It is nothing." she said quietly, wiping away the remnants of tears. "I am simply frustrated, is all."

Thor stepped into the tiny structure, looking huge in the dainty white topiary. He sat next to her and took her hand, gently lacing his fingers in hers. "My Lady, forgive me, but I heard you scream from a little whiles away. I heard what you said about my brother. About Takumi. Everything."

Kaisa looked away from him and took back her hand, feeling her face grow red with more embarrassment. "Your brother is indeed the God of Mischief, Thor. I am only sorry that I hadn't seen it sooner."

There was a moment of silence, and then a harshly whispered question: "What has he done to you?"

"He has done nothing." Kaisa said quietly. "At least, not to me."

Thor sat back, his hands fidgeting with one another as he thought to himself. His grey steel eyes looked sad but serious, and then he looked up and addressed her again. "Do not believe every word that my brother says, Kaisa. For every lie, there is a bit of truth."

"Truth." Kaisa said numbly. "I do not know what is the truth anymore, Thor. So much has happened in these past moons."

"Please do not blame him for what has happened." Thor said to her, clasping her hands once again. His mouth was turned in a quivering frown, and he looked as though the Mighty God of Thunder was going to break down and cry. Kaisa bit down on her lip as she recognized that tone- the same tone she had always used when protecting her sister. How could she simply brush that away?

"As pitiful as he is, I do not blame him for what has happened." she murmured truthfully, slowly taking her hands away from him and getting to her feet. "He did not force Takumi to run away and be jailed for it, nor did he push her over the edge into insanity. But I cannot allow Takumi's antics continue in this realm, or in any other."

Thor looked at her with an alarmed expression. "Whatever do you mean, Kaisa?"

Kaisa sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. "Once Takumi is freed from her sentence, I am taking her and we will depart from Asgard."

"You cannot." Thor murmured quietly. "Tis the All-Father's words-"

"I do not care for the All-Father's words! He is not in charge of me, nor Takumi." Kaisa hissed. Thor's expression turned from alarmed to a look of sadness, almost upset, but she didn't care. "I am fully aware that once I cross that border with her, the deal will be breached and the both of us are liable to criminal charges."

He grasped at her wrists, tightly, as though he wasn't going to let her go without a fair fight. "But why, Kaisa? Why are you compelled to do this?"

"Have you not seen what they have done to Takumi in the jails?!" Kaisa whispered fiercely. "And when she is released, she will be married to the epithet Silvertongue- and you know he cares not for marriage. He will do whatever it takes to be freed."

Thor shook his head vigorously. "That is not true, Kaisa, he means much better than that.."

"Oh yes, just like he meant well when he tricked you and nearly took over the throne to Asgard." Kaisa spat. "Just like he meant well when he tried to take over Misgard and enslave the humans there."

"How do you know about that?" Thor hissed. To Kaisa's surprise, she saw a flash of anger gleam in those calm grey eyes, churning them to a fierce storm. "Those actions have not been talked about in nearly a century."

"You think I would not have found out?" she laughed dryly, hanging helplessly in Thor's iron-grip, feeling her helplessness take over once more. "I have found out, piece by piece, what has happened over the years. I have done research myself on the history of this realm."

Thor tightened his lip. "My brother has made many mistakes Kaisa. His entire life, he has lacked the warmth and love that I had gotten. He is not as strong as the average warrior, so he makes it up with his magic. And even then, he was relentlessly bullied for his yearn for studies. All he wishes for is for someone to understand what he means to accomplish!"

"Then have him find someone else." Kaisa snapped. "It will not be my sister."

"I cannot help if that is what he has chosen!" Thor said helplessly, dropping her wrist and his arms hanging limply at his sides. He looked defeated, the fierce storm in his eyes dissipated. "I cannot help what he feels, Kaisa. He just wishes for acceptance."

Kaisa slowly wrapped her arms around herself. Suddenly, words were spilling from her mouth as though she had no control over what she was saying. "Did you know that when Takumi and I were younger, she did not have any friends? I had many, for they were the children of the slaves or peasants, and they would teach me Hnefatafl and Hurstwic. I would spend my days with them, playing as little girls do, without a worry."

Thor looked perplexed, but he didn't say a word. Kaisa bit back a dry laugh and held back her tears, feeling ridiculous for crying but unable to help it."But Takumi.. she never came to the Hnefatafl games, nor did she watch the grand races with us. My friends only knew of her existence through the royal hierarchy. She always spent her days in the library, a dark place in where I refused to go. Her nose was always stuck in a book, muttering about spells and other things in which I didn't understand. Oh, how she hated being tied to one thing, and she would always beg me to explore the nearby forests with her."

"Kaisa..." Thor said softly, trailing off. She wiped her eyes and chuckled softly, lost in her memories.

"Takumi loved hearing stories from Father. Her favorite was the one where he had fought in the great Fire War with the All-Father himself, the two of them as close as brothers, fighting together for the best of the nine realms." she looked at Thor and, despite the strangeness of it all, smiled softly. "Does this not sound familiar to you, Thor?"

Thor's mouth dropped open, and he reached for Kaisa and embraced her, his face nuzzling up against hers. She felt something wet drip on her face, and she realized that he was crying. The God of Thunder, crying. It was an ironic moment, but she couldn't appreciate it. She was too broken, her memories fragmented by the vision of Takumi being tied in the jail cell, bleeding and dying away with every second.

"Please do not leave," she heard him whisper in her ear. "I have lost one loved one already. I do not wish to lose another."

Kaisa felt a lump form in her throat, and she fought desperately not to crumble in his embrace and give in. She pushed herself away from him, hating herself for the hurt look that was so obviously laced on the god's face. "I am sorry, Thor. I have made up my mind."

"You do not have to make such drastic decisions." he said, his voice almost begging. "Please, you have a bit of time left before Takumi's sentence is over. You must think of the consequences."

"I have made up my mind." Kaisa said again, this time turning on her heel and walking out the doorway of the topiary. She heard Thor choke back something that sounded eerily similar to a sob, but she didn't turn her head. She kept walking down the path until she could no longer hear the god's broken crying, and she kept walking until she was inside the palace herself.

Turning into the servants headquarters, she simply stepped into a vacant room and closed the door behind her, settling on the rough bed and burying her face in her arms.

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_Please review. _


	23. Once Upon A Time

Loki found that he couldn't sleep again. Even as his body sank exhaustedly in the sheets and refused to move again, his brain wouldn't stop chattering. He had nearly smashed his head against the wall in desperation: all he wanted to do was sleep and forget the uneventful day. As he tossed and turned in the blankets, he tried to occupy his mind elsewhere, but to no avail. All he could hear was Kaisa's voice screaming to him in disbelief, and his own well-crafted lie that slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it. It tortured him, playing on repeat until he felt like he was going insane.

It was getting to the point of ridiculousness.

He didn't know what to feel anymore. There was a time where is mind was clear and he knew exactly what he desired, every plan in the future was carefully laid out in front of him. His emotions weren't jumbled and tossed around, like they were now. Nothing had mattered except making Thor miserable and holding his own kingdom in his palm.

But those plans had long since disappeared, replaced by an aching black hole that wanted to be important. There was a part of him that longed to be... needed, just like Thor was by Jane. Even though he scoffed at Thor for being with an Earthly woman, he still wished that something similar would happen to him; that someone would be willing to treasure him like she did Thor. It was a thought that had been pushed to the back of his mind when he realized who he truly was, long forgotten during his reign of insanity and chaos. During his trial in the prisons, the thought surfaced once more, only to pushed down again when he came to his senses that it would never happen.

But here were those thoughts again; coming to the surface of his mind and letting itself known in the form of unwanted arousal. It pressed hard against his pants, protesting loudly against the fabric. Loki let out a groan of frustration and ran a shaking hand through his hair. Was it too much for him to ask for an inkling of the kind of happiness Thor had? Even if Jane was now gone, Thor wouldn't have a problem finding someone else. Like Kaisa.

All he wanted was a taste of that experience, and he would be satisfied. He shuddered as he curled in his bed, unable to relax enough to fall asleep. He wasn't in the mood for such primal matters that his body longed for, and in the end he opted for a sleep spell straight out of his books. Swinging his legs over his bed and wincing at the strain in his groin, he fumbled for his books and uttered the ancient words. For a second he felt hazy, the room spinning around him quickly.

Before he could even turn to walk to his bed, blackness took over him and there was nothing.

* * *

He awoke the next morning in a daze, his body aching uncomfortably from sleeping on the floor. The spellbook was still clutched to his chest like a childhood toy, and he let go of it with a groan and turned onto his side.

At least the spell had done its job and put him to sleep as he wanted. Thank the gods for small favors.

Loki shakily got to his feet and cast the book back to where it belonged, feeling his strength slowly return to him. He put on his clothing without really thinking about it, buckling the straps in place and pulling on his shoes as if he was being controlled by another entity, none of his movements his own violation. He didn't realize what he was doing until there was a loud knock at his chamber doors, snapping him out of his trance.

Sluggishly, he shuffled to the door and opened it, half-expecting to see Kaisa. Instead, it was Thor who just barged through without so much as a 'hello', nearly knocking Loki onto the floor with the sudden movement.

"Good morning to you too." Loki said dryly, slowly regaining his balance. Before he knew it, Thor had swiftly grabbed the front of his armor and picked him up well off the ground, his feet hovering inches above the soft carpet.

"What has gone wrong with you, brother?!" Thor asked angrily, his lip set in a hard line. "Do you detest me so much that you are willing to take it out on others?"

"What are you talking about?" Loki scowled.

Thor's cloudy eyes grew dark with anger, threatening to send down a massive storm at any second. "Do I look to be in a gaming mood? Answer my question!"

"I do not know what you're rattling on to begin with, Thor." Loki snarled. He grabbed Thor's arm and pushed away, setting himself on the floor. With one hand, he smoothed down the front of his armor, but keeping his eyes on the God of Thunder standing right in front of him. "If you are done bothering me, I wish to be left alone."

"I had a talk with Kaisa last night. She had been upset, screaming at the topiary as though they had wronged her. I tried to console her, but she merely shook me off and told me to leave her be, and that she was scheduling an escape from Asgard the minute Takumi was set free. I could not do a thing!" Thor looked as though he was about to explode from frustration. "Brother, it does not pass me that you are Kaisa have your differences."

"So you automatically assume blame on me, is that it?" Loki angrily crossed his arms, a dark shadow passed over him. Bitterness once again resurfaced, controlling his every word. "Kaisa is simply upset that Takumi has not been released yet. Do not dare to pass the blame on me, Thor."

"Do not lie to me, Loki!" Thor rumbled, visibly shaking. "I know what you have said to Kaisa! The cruel words that you have inflicted onto her!"

Loki grinned viciously; his actions were being controlled by a separate entity, one that wasn't his own. Even so, he loved the look of pain that passed over Thor's face, and he loved that pang of pain that rolled across his own chest. It made him feel alive, and less like the zombie he had become. He reveled in it, bathing in it- positively rolling around in all that pain.

"There is no crime in telling truth, is there Thor?" he purred, his voice soft. "She asked for the truth, and I simply told it to her. Is that not what you want?"

Thor grabbed his shoulders tightly, squeezing the skin so that it inflicted more pain. "Brother, you would not know truth if it bit you on the nose! Why did you do such a vain and cruel thing, Loki? Both the sisters are suffering enough without your gloating and lies!"

"You think that I told Kaisa what I did merely to watch her cry?" Loki said softly, the menace in his voice dipping incredulously. He balled his fists; the good rush of adrenaline gone and was replaced by black anger. "You think that I wish to watch the sisters' demise, and that I hold their fates in the palm of my hand? Oh, Thor, if it were only that simple."

A sad look passed over Thor's face. "I would not put it past you. Do you not remember the incident on Misgard?"

"That was because it was _you _who was trapped, Thor!" Loki seethed. "You looked so pathetic in that glass cage, so small, that I could not resist!"

His words went too far, he realized, as he saw a spark of anger ignite in those grey eyes. Loki was a bit stunned, and he even took a step backwards at the sight. With one swift move, there was a large slam in the face, and his body tumbling backwards. He thumped against the wall with a groan, his face aching.

"What did I do to stray you away from me!?" Thor roared. "I have tried again and again to apologize to you, and you will not take it! What am I doing wrong, Loki!?"

"Apologies mean nothing! Whist I had to suffer in your glorious shadow, my hands tied down to rocks in the those prisons, you did not ONCE come down to see me!" Clutching his burning face, Loki found himself on the verge of screaming, barely able to control himself to all the emotions that were aching to be let loose. "I am not your brother, Odinson! I am that monster that the All-Father taught us to fear."

Thor growled at him and slammed his hands against his shoulders, pushing him back to the wall. He merely stared at Loki for a moment, seemingly unable to say anything. Loki stared back at him with hatred, bitterness, and the horrible feeling of pleasure that always came with his anger. For a few moments, the room was silent and the air was tense.

Finally, Thor spoke, his voice tense. "It is no matter what Odin has taught us. You are, and always will be, my brother. Always."

Loki blinked, barely registering the words. His entire body was now throbbing dully, but even as he picked himself off, he found himself wishing he had never opened the door to begin with.

"Are you that dense, Thor?" he asked softly. "You truly believed I care? No, Thor, I do not care. Not about the Vanir sisters, not about the kingdom of Asgard, and certainly not you."

"Why do you insist on lying to me, Loki?" Thor rumbled, his shoulders visibly shaking with rage. Instead of pushing Loki again, he simply grabbed his shoulders and shook him roughly, shouting in his face. "Do you not remember how we played together as children? How we explored, fought, learned together? I trusted you with the darkest of my secrets, and you trusted that I would protect you! Does that mean nothing to you?"

Loki remained silent, the last vestiges of anger finally draining from his body. What was left inside of him was a bottomless pit of sorrow and guilt, an endless amount of hurt that threatened to swallow him.

"Loki, I am sorry I have been a terrible brother to you. I truly am." Thor said, his voice only a fraction softer than before."I wish to fix that and earn your forgiveness. But do not take your hatred on Kaisa and Takumi. They are in a similar situation themselves."

"I never did a thing to either of them." Loki found himself scowling once again. "As for their situation, that is their problem to deal with."

"You lack compassion, brother." Thor shook his head and let go of Loki, letting him fall onto the floor with a small grunt. He stared down at him, his gaze unwavering and cold. "You lack love."

"Love." Loki spat. "That vile emotion?"

"I know it is there, somewhere." Thor walked to the door and wrenched it open. He left, and Loki could hear his heavy footsteps departing down the hall.

Loki sat in the same place, unmoving. He had clearly made Thor upset, something that he had longed to do ever since his humiliating failure on Earth. Now he had finally accomplished that goal and made the Mighty God of Thunder to loose control over his vicious words, ensuring his title of the Silvertongue.

Even so, why did he feel so worthless and empty? He had said everything he had wanted to say, hadn't he?

His shoulders shuddered as he thought. _You lack compassion, brother. _

_You lack love. _

He blinked and got to his feet.

Surprisingly, he found himself walking towards the door. He let himself step into the hall, and as silent as a shadow, he walked down to where the doors of the library were held. He slipped into the massive room and strided down the well-known paths, his eyes scanning the shelves. It was a familiar feeling, almost comforting as he found the thing he was looking for. It was almost silly of him to do this, and he felt as though he was a child again as he grasped that book. He took a seat in his old chair and opened up the book to chapter one, reading the first line of the story that he knew so well.

Those fated love stories that he pretended to detest.

He took a deep breath as he started, a small part of him hoping that Kaisa and Thor would be satisfied to see him do this. For the greater good.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Princess who awaited her entire life for her one true love..."

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_Please review. _


	24. Rindr

There was screaming, once again.

It was execution day, she believed, judging by the begging, and whimpering, and wails of pain that echoed off the prison walls. Takumi shuddered as she heard the guards clomping through their shifts, gathering their weapons and armor for the day ahead. Even though there was no windows for her to tell, she believed it was morning, judging from the tired yawns coming from the servants and guards.

They shuffled around the prison, slowly opening the cells and bringing out the prisoners ready to be executed. Some of the prisoners went quietly, wishing to preserve their dignity until the end. With quiet feet, they walked past Takumi's cell down the hall, where the death-room lay. Others went loudly; screaming in rage and trying to punch the guards in the face, fighting against the law with all their strength and cursing the All-Father's name. They had to be beaten into silence, or killed on the spot in a bloody mess.

She shivered as the cycle went on for hours, wishing that she could rip off her ears so she couldn't hear any more of that horrible crying. It was something that she would never forget, as long as she lived.

Through the stiffening darkness of the prison, she could see down the corridor, where a woman was being dragged out of her cell. She went quietly, stumbling on the chains at her feet, and then she lifted up her head and spoke something quietly to the guards that held her. Instantly, the silhouette figure of the woman crumbled to the ground as the guard lifted up his giant hand, slamming it into her at full force. Takumi uttered a shriek of terror at the sight, and shrunk back into her own cell.

The body of the woman was being dragged, the flesh sliding across the stone in a sickening slithering noise. The guard came into view, his face hidden partly by his hair and helmet, and he stared at her for a moment before dropping the woman's body in front of her cell. He uttered a slurred, "I shall be back shortly." and disappeared in the darkness, retreating up the steps.

Takumi slowly sunk back against the stone wall, her throat suddenly dry. She dared not to breathe as she stared at the crumbled body, wondering if she was alive.

As if on cue, the woman slowly lifted her head up, groaning quietly. And as if she sensed Takumi, her piercing eyes landed right on Takumi, boring into her own.

Takumi stifled a whimper and stared back, her large eyes staring into those black, soulless ones.

"Lassie..." the woman said quietly, the voice so gentle that Takumi nearly choked with shock. "You are'st the Princess, are you not? From the faraway realm of Vanaheim. What..." she coughed, blood spewing out of her mouth and onto the concrete. "What are you 'ere fer?"

"I..." Takumi tried to swallow something to soothe her throat, but nothing worked. "I was supposed to get married.. but I ran away. Across the Asgardian border. This.. this is my punishment."

Surprisingly, the woman smiled kindly at her, those black eyes twinkling with amusement. "I 'eared about yer story; such a trifling deal, if you ask me. It ain't fair, what ye had to go through. It certainly ain't fair that ye has to spend her days in a filthy cell such as this. My name is Rindr, not that you would care any, but I thought that you should know."

"You're wounded, Rindr." Takumi said softly, staring at the twisted skin on the woman's arms. There were sharp bones sticking through the shoulders and wrists, no doubt from the guard's beatings. Rivulets of blood were gently running down the woman's back, staining her prisoner dress and soaking on the stones below. It looked incredibly painful, but the woman shrugged netherless.

"Pain tis only temporary." she said softly. "For when my time of death comes, I will not longer feel pain, but I will be freed. The crossing into Thanos's realm will be a relief from the life I had been living."

Then her black eyes hardened as she stared at Takumi. "But at least I will be free. You will still be here, tied up to the stones like a wee animal, forced to endure whatever the guards throw at ye."

Takumi shuddered at the thought. "It doesn't matter."

The woman rested her head on the stone floor and gave her an inquisitive look. "I 'eard you was supposed to be married to the youngest Prince, not the blonde one, but the one who wreaked havoc on the middle realm. Misgard, I believe. Loki, son of Laufey the Jotunn. Is that why you do not want to marry him, child? Because he is a troublemaker? I've seen 'im before, he is quite the handsome devil, mind you."

"My father arranged the marriage to keep the peace between our realms." Takumi said in a grudging tone, as she remembered it. "My sister, Kaisa, is the true heir to the throne, whilst I am the adopted child, taken from the forbidden Fire Realm. I do not belong in Asgard, dear woman, and I definitely do not belong with Loki."

"Oh. So you is a captor, then?" the woman laughed, her voice tinkling eerily. "I do not blame you for making your escape then. If I were you, I would have done the same thing."

Takumi sat silently, mindlessly picking at her chains. "Why are you here, then?"

There was another flash of amusement in those black eyes. "Ah, lassie, that is a dark story. You do not want to hear such sad tales."

"You're being sentenced to death. What have you done to earn yourself the prize of death?" Takumi asked, slipping her hands around the iron-bars. "Not even Loki was sentenced to death for the killings of the humans on Earth."

Rindr smiled at her, almost mother-like. "Because he is a Prince, my child. And I am not. You see, a long while ago, I was foolishly in love with the All-Father himself. I was actually born a Jotunn, and even though the realms clashed with war and bitterness, Odin still showed me gratitude and warmth. But I was changed into a beautiful Asgardian woman, with the help of a witch, and I snuck into Asgard to see him. Nonetheless, my advances worked for a little while, but Odin eventually found of my trickery, and the Council raged war against Jotunheim, believing that I was spy." Rindr looked lost in thought, her eyes fading to a grey color as she sunk down on the floor. "Odin never forgave me for my deceit, and I was banished to the prisons, where I have lain ever since."

"I..." Takumi swallowed back a lump in her throat. "I am so sorry.."

"Do not be." Rindr waved her apology away with her gnarled hand. "It was love that was never meant to be. I should have known better, for I had the blood of a Jotunn. Just like yer Loki does. And child, we Jotunns do not belong in Asgard."

Takumi shook her head. "He's not _mine. _Besides, he doesn't want me either."

"You have the unrequited love as well? Ah lassie, I do understand that feeling." Rindr closed her eyes once, and then opened them again, her face pale. "I do not understand why, for you are a lovely sight to the eyes."

"I do not love him!" Takumi said incredulously, balling her hands into fists. "We come from different worlds, different elements. I am a Fire Element, and he is Frost."

Rindr smiled at her. "Oh lassie, whilst you are fiery in spirit, you make for a terrible liar. You harbor feelings for him, and it makes you upset. Do not let it be so."

There was heavy footsteps approaching them as a guard was clunking down the stone steps, ropes held in his hand. Takumi widened her eyes as she realized who they were going for, and she felt her stomach lurch in anxiety.

"Hello, Prisoner Rindr. Are you ready for your execution?" the guard asked heavily, coming to a stop at the crumbled, bleeding body. Rindr slowly opened her eyes and peered at the guard, a small smile stretched on her face.

"As ready as I ever was, you bastard." she said softly.

The guard grunted and roughly pushed Rindr onto her stomach, pulling her arms back in a painful way, tying her hands together. Rindr let out a scream of pain as the bones in her shoulders and wrists were pushed further out of her skin, and the blood flow became much heavier, soaking into the goddess's hair and slowly traveling to Takumi's cell.

"No!" Takumi screamed, rattling the ironbars violently. "Stop it! Stop it, Gods, leave her alone!"

"Sorry, Princess. The All-Father's orders." the guard said gruffly, picking up Rindr and throwing her over his shoulder.

Rindr slowly lifted up her head and glanced at Takumi, a gentle smile on her old face. "Do not despair, child. I will be free. Perhaps I will find true love.."

"NO! NO!" Takumi shook the bars harder, the chains chafing further into her already red skin. "Do not do this! Please! I beg of you! I will do anything for her release!"

"Best of luck, dear Princess." Rindr said softly, and then the two of them disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind Takumi's wild screams and the dark red stain on the floor.

She pounded on the bars for a little bit longer, not caring if everyone could hear her. She even kicked them at one point, screaming unintelligibly at the unfairness of it all, and the stupidity of the sentencing here. It wasn't fair! Were people really sentenced to death over such stupid affairs, simply because of their race and who they fell in love with? Was that how shallow Odin was, to allow such terrible things to happen in the prisons?

Takumi stopped pounding on the bars and collapsed on the ground, staring at the red-blood puddle. She mumbled no over and over again, remembering how broken the older woman looked, how ready she was to accept death to forget about the horrible things that happened in her life. It had taken only a few minutes for Rindr to crack open her closed emotions, allowing them to seep through for everyone to see.

Rindr had absolutely nothing to lose.

If sentencing like that was allowed here, what other horrid things had truly happened that she didn't even know about? What lie in store for her remaining sentence?

She didn't want to think about those thoughts. She sluggishly moved back into her corner, pulling herself into her usual ball and settling back into the numbed state she was in before. Her mind wandered to the time Loki had visited her in the prisons, his face covered by the slave clothing. She felt a pang of regret.

Perhaps it would've been better to simply let him do what he wanted to her, at least it would've meant that he would _come back. _She wouldn't be as alone, or as scared all the time.

She felt her heart flutter quietly in her chest at the thought of him, and angrily, she pushed it back down. Why did she want that stupid Laufeyson to come back anyway? It was HIS fault that she was even in here- she had given herself up to get him back to Thor and Kaisa! All because he had went and injured himself, and she had sympathy to fix him up instead of leaving him to the lava monster.

_I shoulda just left him there. _She thought angrily. _I shoulda just left him to die. _

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_Please review._


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